Posted on 09/03/2014 10:02:25 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The parent of a child with a life-threatening peanut allergy is fighting for new rules to protect airline passengers who have severe food allergies.
Lianne Mandelbaum, who says she was practically kicked off a United Airlines flight last year because of her son’s condition, has been lobbying for new protections for allergy sufferers.
Now, more than 14,000 people are coming to her aid, petitioning lawmakers and federal regulators to establish a "buffer zone" around passengers who are allergic to certain foods.
“I am not after a nut ban,” Mandelbaum said. “Just the ability to preboard, wipe down the seat area and make an announcement that will let everyone live with their own moral compass around me.”
The petitioners are calling for a rule that would prohibit airlines from serving snacks containing nuts to any passenger sitting near someone with a peanut allergy. Furthermore, passengers who bring peanuts on board would not be allowed to eat them during the flight, if they are sitting within the buffer zone.
The buffer zone would extend to passengers sitting in the three rows in front of or behind someone with a severe peanut allergy.
The rules would also prevent airlines from removing passengers who have peanut allergies.
When Mandelbaum reported her son's allergy to United Airlines, she recalls being told: "Well, if you think he's going to die, don't get on the plane."
"Children and adults with food allergies should be able to report their allergy without fear of being kicked off a flight," Mandelbaum said. "As it stands, they have no such rights and cases have been reported of people being taken off a flight for reporting a food allergy."
Currently, there are no federal rules protecting airlines passengers who have peanut allergies, Mandelbaum says — something she is hoping to change.
Mandelbaum successfully convinced the New Jersey Senate to protect airline passengers with peanut allergies in 2013.
But she is pushing for federal rules that would expand the protections for passengers around the country.
Mandelbaum is also meeting with officials at top airlines, asking them to establish company policies protecting passengers with peanut allergies. She noted that "different flight crews on the same airline will react differently to a food allergy request" without set policies.
She has had some success in her efforts.
WestJet has stopped serving peanuts on board, while Jet Blue Airways will create a buffer zone for allergic passengers upon request, Mandelbaum said.
However, United Airlines has shown "no signs" of changing its policy, following the incident where she was asked to take her son off the flight, Mandelbaum said.
Delta Airlines has not responded to her request, she added.
The petition is being hosted by Care2, an activist website that hosts petitions from public interest, environmental and health groups.
I haven’t been offered peanuts on a plane in years. They still do that?
Clueless and hateful comments on threads like this one do a disservice to conservatives and make FR look bad.
No wonder we are too often portrayed as uncaring blowhards.
Most issues truly do have multiple considerations, and things are often more complicated that a soundbite (or cute comment) will allow.
So, let’s see........... exactly HOW many TIMES do these folks fly per year?
This mother only wants an area near him safe for him She isn't trying to control the behavior of the entire plane.
Much as I detest nanny state
Some folks have grave allergy to peanuts
Life threatening and then some
My kids have pals who have gone into anaphalyctic shock in seconds
Same with seafood
Airplane is a hard place for emergency remedy
My DH, and a daughter have severe peanut/nut allergies. That being said. They have learned to watch out for themselves-— from childhood on.
You can try to “purify” the immediate area about you, but what happens when you are in the main public? You push open doors, you breathe the air about you on elevators, you sit on used seats on a train, or bus. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
The kid has to learn what to do, and carry an Epi pen if he has a severe problem. His Mommy won’t always be by his side.
The ambulance didn’t have an epipen?? Why didn’t the kid have an epipen? My friend’s kid has one at all times!
Drive, take the train, charter a plane.
I’m sympathetic to people with food allergies, especially severe ones like peanut, but they still need to understand that their allergies are their problem and they need to handle it. We’ve gotten this wave in America lately where one person’s allergy becomes everybody’s problem. Don’t eat bread around celiacs, “peanut-free zones”, and on and on. It’s gotten quite silly. If you need an edited version of the world around you you need to edit it yourself. And really, given how the air recirculation system in planes works inconveniencing the nearest 9 passengers won’t really help her kid, if peanut dust gets in the air from anywhere it’ll get to her kid.
How about she doesn’t take her child on an airplaine. That should be her first effort to protect her child.
Smoking was proven to impact the health of all people, not just a very very tiny minority of folks. That’s apples to oranges and you know it.
“Well, if you think he’s going to die, don’t get on the plane.”
Exactly.
AMEN! I’ll go for a Roast Beef Sandwich or a Hamburger with Fries =]
If someone is truely that sensitive, there's no telling where in the world they might encounter some peanut residue, much less on a plane. They should just stay home, or arrange for some other form of travel. Certainly, they should be carrying epi-pens, and other emergency devices.
Do people not realize that every time we ask for such accomodations, we're adding costs and complexities to goods and services? And it's not just those allergic that will pay for this; everyone will pay for this.
And you can also bet that this won't stop with peanut-free zones, we'll next have to consider meat-free zones, and organic-only zones, and kosher crackers, and who knows what else.
Why should I be affected because the spawn of some stranger I’ve never met can’t tolerate peanuts? Not my problem! When they start dealing with my problems, I may reconsider.
I usually fly Southwest. In recent years I had noticed that sometimes we did not get peanuts, but only pretzels or some other snack. This summer, on a flight it happened again and I asked the attendant if they had run out of peanuts, and they told me that someone on the flight was allergic, so they weren’t serving them to anyone.
How about a “No Farting” section?
Don’t take this as personal as it will sound. I’m just tossing this out there. You mentioned it and I am responding. I’m not sure if you totally disagree with me here or not.
Jedidah, I realize there are problems with allergies to nuts. The question is, to what extent do we impact the vast majority of people without nut allergies?
There are other allergies out there too. Do we sanitize all places of all things for the few members of our society that have these maladies?
Should we ban peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for every child in the public school system? Is that reasoned?
Don’t people who are healthy have rights too?
I am sorry that some people have allergies. I don’t think the rest of society should be handicapped by it.
I’m sure there will be a lot of folks who disagree with me.
Let me ask you this. Should we just ban nuts altogether?
They are a serious threat you know.
Righto. Put a tyvek suit, gloves and a respiratory on the kid. a whole lot more likely to be effective that exhortations to people not to eat peanuts.
What’s she going to do about the person who just ate a bagfull in the lobby before getting on the plane?
Maybe I’m missing something, but there are a whole bunch of things people are severely allergic to, but you only hear about activists for peanut allergies.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.