This month, Congress passed and President Biden signed legislation that impacts passengers with allergies on U.S. commercial flights.

Current regulation requires emergency medical kits (EMKs) to have epinephrine in a vial that must be withdrawn and administered by a medical professional with needled syringe. This creates a barrier to care as there is no guarantee a medical professional will be on board a flight in case of an emergency. And giving an injection with a needle and syringe can be challenging on an airplane.

The new law – the first update to EMKs in over 20 years – requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to update the contents of EMKs.

How This New Law Helps

The new law will make airline travel safer by:

• Requiring emergency medical kits on airplanes include “appropriate medications and equipment that can practicably be administered” to treat specific conditions, including anaphylaxis (a serious allergic reaction)

• Requiring regular review and updating of the contents of EMKs

• Considering what contents in EMKs should be “readily available” for use by flight crew members without prior approval by a medical professional
  

The legislation requires the FAA to conduct rulemaking and to include considerations specific to anaphylaxis in this rulemaking process.

Advocacy Opportunities Ahead

The rulemaking process takes time – but also provides an opportunity for public comment.

By calling out anaphylaxis and specifically calling for the contents of EMKs to be usable by flight crews without a medical professional, Section 368 of the bill paves the way to switch to epinephrine auto-injectors or other easy-to-use epinephrine options in the future (nasal spray, under-the-tongue).

We need to raise our voices to make sure the FAA understands the importance of a final rule that requires EMKs to include auto-injectors or other easy-to-use epinephrine.

Stay tuned for updates on how you can be a part of the process.

Bottom line: This law is a huge step toward safer skies for airline passengers with anaphylaxis. It’s a sign that our community’s voices were heard and a signal that Congress expects the FAA to listen going forward.

AAFA’s Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy, Jenna Riemenschneider, explains more about what the law means and the process for moving forward:

Watch on YouTube