[2016/03/31]Allergic to Dogs on a Flight? What Travelers Need to Know

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Allergic to Dogs on a Flight? What Travelers Need to Know

A 7-year-old boy and his parents were asked to leave theirAllegiant Air flight from Bellingham, Wash., to Phoenix last week after the boydeveloped an allergic reaction to a dog, a service animal, on the plane,according to several news reports. The flight was delayed about 90 minutes andsome passengers were said to have applauded when the child was leaving.

Putting aside the pitiless behavior of travelers (the boy’s fatherhas throat cancer), what recourse do fliers have when their allergies flare up?Answers to these and other questions on protocol follow.

Q. Should fliers today assume every plane carries a dog or anotherpet?

A. A plane may or may not carry an animal, and airlines place limitson the number of pets in each cabin. For example, on domestic flights Delta AirLines allows two pets maximum in first class, two in business and four in itsmain cabin, at an additional cost to the passenger and with restrictions onbreed and size.

Service animals are an exception, however, and must be accommodatedby airlines at no charge, according to the Department of Transportation. Thereis no limit on service animals aboard an aircraft, and they are not consideredpets and counted against the pet limit.

“I would say almost every plane has had a dog in the last month,and they’re not deep cleaned very often. You still have dander, and if you’rehighly allergic you may react to it,” said George Hobica, founder ofAirfarewatchdog.com.

How do airlines manage people who have allergies to pets orservice animals aboard a flight?

Most airlines will try to accommodate allergy sufferers byreseating them. “We will reseat them in a place furthest from the animal or ifthat is not acceptable or available we will put them on the next availableflight at no additional cost,” said Ross Feinstein, spokesman for AmericanAirlines.

How should fliers with allergies prepare themselves for travel?

“If you are traveling, call the airline or the train ahead of timeto find out what their policies are so you are well-informed going into thetrip,” said Dr. Cary Sennett, chief executive of the Asthma and AllergyFoundation of America. “If you are bothered while traveling, you have to saysomething to the person next to you or to the flight attendant. It’s importantto have your medications with you in your carry-on and not checked, and toensure the medications are up-to-date.” For those with severe allergicreactions, which is not uncommon in cases like peanut allergies, he recommendskeeping the medication epinephrine and auto-injectors at hand.

What is the airline protocol in the event of a medical emergency?

Allegiant Air explained its actions in the following emailedmessage, “In instances where passengers become ill or experience other medicalissues, Allegiant, like many major air carriers, works with a third partyorganization to make decisions to ensure the safety of the passenger inquestion. This third party team includes medical doctors who are available 24hours a day to provide guidance to our ground and in-flight crew members. Basedon the advice of the third party physician, decisions are made about whether ornot it is the safest course of action to allow a passenger to continue onboard.”

What would an airline do if this had happened in the air?

In addition to carrying first aid and medical kits, most airlineshave medical support on call. Over 130 global airlines contract with MedAire tosupply advice. According to Dr. Paulo M. Alves, global medical director withMedAire, the most common ailments are gastrointestinal, involving nausea andvomiting, followed by common fainting and seizures. With chest pains orstrokes, the company usually recommends diverting the flight because time totreatment is critical, although the judgment ultimately rests with the pilot whomust weigh security concerns and the well-being of the other passengers.

Only 3.5 percent of calls MedAire receives are allergy related.“Only a minority are severe, and out of those, it’s rarely the first event,” hesaid. “Those who have them have had them, have usually had in the past. But inmedicine, as in love, there’s no 100 percent.”

Why did it take the family an additional two days to get anotherflight?

While passengers who are bumped from a flight are usually bookedon the next available flight, availability may be an issue with a low-costcarrier that doesn’t fly the route frequently, which was the case withAllegiant.

“A lot of low-cost carriers often don’t offer daily service,” saidGary Leff, who writes the blog View from the Wing. “You might have to wait afew days for the next flight. If you were on one of the major carriers, theyoften have multiple ways of getting to a destination on a given day. That’s whyI prefer legacy carriers with substantial route networks. It’s the same with serviceor weather events. They can route around them.”

It’s said that a flight attendant “smirked” at the family of thechild. How should the crew have handled the situation?

“They certainly shouldn’t smirk,” Mr. Hobica said. “They should beunderstanding and as diplomatic as possible.”

from International New York Times

http://nyti.ms/1KR5xns

Q. Have youever experienced some illnesses while traveling on a flight?

Q. Pleasetell us your exceptional flight experience.

Q. Do youuse low-cost airlines or legacy airlines?

Q. If youare allergic to pets, are you willing to take an following airplane?