Air Canada to accommodate passenger food allergies
An increasingly common food allergy to nuts has put pressure on Air Canada to accommodate passengers with the condition.
Air Canada has developed a policy in response to complaints over the last few years, and now has 30 days to accept or reject the formal recommendations of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
The airline plans to create a nut-free buffer zone around the affected passenger—effectively banning nuts with a certain radius of the passenger. If you’ve got a seat nearby, you could be informed that no nuts will be available on your flight.
According to a document issued by the CTA, when passengers notify the airline within 48-hours of their flight that they suffer from a nut allergy, the airline must do everything in its power to create a buffer zone around them.
“At this point, we’re still having our legal people look at it," Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said. “It will help us to have this decision to form a policy to accommodate people with severe peanut and nut allergies.”