Peanut Allergies (Announcements on UK Flights) — House of Commons, 2015-02-09
Topic: Health
Robert Goodwill (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the hon. Gentleman is right. Indeed, the way ventilation works on aircraft may mean that a person who is seated well to the back of a plane and well away from the person with the allergy problem will not pose a risk. There is also interesting information about the effect on people when they smell peanuts. Their reaction may not be entirely an allergic reaction; if a person has had a bad experience before, they would certainly be feeling a degree of stress, which could be a risk to them. We should also not forget situations when peanuts have been served on a previous flight or people have had peanuts on a previous flight. Parents might sometimes want to check the seat so a toddler cannot find peanuts in between the upholstery and then consume it, thereby causing a problem We should not impose restrictions on other passengers without evidence that this would be necessary and effective. We should also consider that a carrier is unlikely to be able to guarantee an environment totally free of the trigger substance. For example, an aircraft may have had only superficial "turnaround" cleaning following a previous flight that day, possibly operated by a different airline, and a passenger on the previous flight might have consumed a product containing the allergen as other passengers may bring their own food with them which can contain the allergen Furthermore, the effect of such an announcement may be limited. I am slightly ashamed of this, but I am sure that I am not the only airline passenger not to devote my entire attention to each part of the announcements made every time I fly. In some cases language difficulties may also mean that some passengers do not understand the announcements Another issue is that if an announcement was to be made in relation to peanuts without clear evidence that the action sought reduced a real risk, there could be pressure to make announcements on other topics, for example other foodstuffs such as cooked fish and chickpeas, which have been linked to severe allergic reactions, or dog hairs which may be present on the clothing of passengers, or indeed an assistance-dog on the flight. The list of substances potentially causing an allergic reaction is long and includes strawberries, eggs, soya, milk and sesame seeds. Also, photosensitive epileptic reactions could be linked to some movies or video games that could be played by a passenger on a device during a flight in the vicinity of a person subject to such attacks Where action is to be required by regulation there needs to be an evidence base that it is necessary. I have today asked officials to write to the British Air Transport Association, which represents 80% of UK carriers, asking what its current policy is: whether the declaration should be made as a ticket is booked, which is the current situation; whether carriers should ban nuts from the foods they provide on their flights; and what type of announcement they should make and the practicality of that on some aircraft where the announcements are made via a drop-down video screen rather than by cabin crew over a microphone. I have asked my officials to try and get that information from BATA as a direct result of this debate Finally, it is only practical for any requirement to make such an announcement, if introduced under UK domestic legislation, to apply to UK airlines. As a result significant numbers of passengers flying in and out of the UK on foreign-owner carriers would not be covered by such a provision.