Flying with food allergies is a scary thought for most people, however just because you have a life threatening food allergy doesn’t mean you have to stick to just road trips as your route of travel. With the high prevalence of food allergies, especially in children, airlines have come a long way in accommodating food allergy sufferers. For example, some airlines no longer serve nuts and peanuts on flights, some let you request a nut free buffer zone and some even make an announcement so fellow passengers can refrain from eating nuts on your flight. Although you may still deal with the occasional grumpy seat mate who doesn’t understand that someone’s life is more valuable than eating nuts, we’ve found in our recent travels that most people are very accommodating and understanding.

We’ve compiled a list of ways to reduce your risk of a food allergy reaction while flying. Of course it’s best to always check with your Doctor before flying if you have any questions or concerns. Here are 10 tips we have put together to help keep you safe while flying:

1. Pack your own food. Do not trust any airline food, because at 35,000 feet it’s just not worth the risk. You are able to bring on as much food in your carryon as you’d like. We pack snacks, sandwiches, fruits and vegetables. If you’re traveling to another country they may require you to get rid of your fruits and veggies in customs but other than that you can bring them on the airplane. Liquids are the only food items that are restricted, however if it’s for an infant or toddler TSA will allow most items. You can read more about TSA’s policies regarding liquids and traveling with children by clicking here.

2. Wipe down the entire seat and food tray before sitting down. Most airlines now let you pre-board to wipe down the aisle. I pack travel packs of clorox wipes for all of our flights and we are sure to remind the gate agents that we’d like to pre-board due to our allergies. Even if you’re not allergic to any foods, this is generally a good idea because, germs, lots of them. Yuck!

3. Bring a seat cover just in case the airline seat is cloth. We buy these disposable airplane seat covers and have never had to use one but it’s comforting to know that we have them available just in case. Since they are disposable you can just toss them after use.

4. To be extra cautious for your little ones you can use a tray table cover like one of these. Not only are they a good barrier for germs, but they are really handy for storing toys and crayons so that they don’t fall onto the dirty floor.

5. Call your airline before your flight to make them aware of your food allergy. They will usually make a special note for the flight so that you are able to pre-board and will often times notify the flight staff so they can possibly make a special announcement on board the aircraft for you. Some airlines will even go as far as to not serve any nut or peanut products on a flight when they know they have a nut allergic passenger. When you arrive at your gate be sure to remind the gate agents about your allergy and when you board the plane you can politely remind the flight attendants as well.

6. Do not use the airline blankets or pillows. These are often reused over and over and can be full of food allergy particles. We instead bring our own neck pillows and blankets for the kids to keep them comfortable.

7. Fly on an early flight. We’ve been told that the only thorough cleaning an airplane gets is before an early morning flight. You never know what crumbs and food allergens are on the floor and continuously being carried about the cabin by shoes all day long. So, we try our best to take the first flight out when possible, hoping this decreases some risks.

8. Ask those seated around you to refrain from eating nuts if it all possible. If for some reason the airline does not make an announcement regarding your allergy, you can politely ask those seated next to you to avoid eating nuts. Kindness is key when asking, don’t demand it. Perhaps you can even offer to purchase them a nut free snack from the menu or offer them some of your individually packaged snacks. We eat pretty healthy and mostly organic so we constantly travel with a surplus of these types of foods for ourselves and if need be for those around us who were kind enough to avoid eating one of our allergens.

9. Bring your epi pens in your carry one bag. In fact, bring extras when possible and if you’re traveling as a family be sure to split them among your carry ons just in case you lose a bag somewhere along your travels. Make sure the prescription labels are on your epi pens, it is not necessary to bring a long a doctors note.

10. Give your feedback to the airlines after your flight, whether it was negative or positive. The only way airlines can keep us safe is by hearing directly from food allergy sufferers. Had a great flight? Give them a shoutout and thank you on twitter. Had a bad flight? Send them an email to discuss the issue further. Either way, it’s important that they received our feedback so that they can continue to work on their food allergy friendly policies.

I hope you found these tips helpful for your next flight. I also suggest researching each airline before you purchase your ticket. Some definitely have more allergy friendly policies than others do, but either way it’s best for you to make an informed decision based on their policies. Do you have any tips to share? Leave them in the comments below. If you’ve have any trusted airlines to share with us please leave those in the comments too.

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