Letter to Nicholas Calio, President of Airlines for America - Schumer Reveals: Emergency Medical Kits Aboard Airplanes Do Not Have to Stock Life-Saving Medicine--like that Found in Epipens; Since 2001, Airlines Have Successfully Lobbied Faa for A Pass; Senator Demands Airlines & Faa Reverse Course & Stock Planes with Epipens Because They Can Save the Lives of Kids & Adults During an Emergency
Letter
Dear Mr. Calio:
We write today to draw your attention to the serious issue of food allergy reactions aboard commercial airplanes and the life-saving medications used to suppress them, like Epinephrine.
It has come to our recent attention that the airline industry has successfully sought to limit, and or, prevent life-saving medications--like Epinephrine--from making it aboard flights. In 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted the airlines operating in the U.S. a four-year exemption from providing critical medications, like auto-injectable Epinephrine, Atropine and Dextrose, in onboard emergency medical kits. This is both a concerning and dangerous policy.
Therefore, we are hopeful that you, in collaboration with the FAA, will immediately lead the charge to provide public notification of this exemption to your passengers and promptly review the need for this exemption, and the regulations regarding onboard emergency medical kits. We urge you to begin working towards inclusion of Epinephrine auto-injectors, for both adults and children, as a standard component of EMKs.
Traveling with severe allergies can be difficult, but, without access to the proper medication, it can also be deadly. Your methods, with support from the FAA, to repeatedly disregard pleas from passengers and failing to implement recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Food Allergy Research and Education Group, the Association of Flight Attendants and Emergency Nurses Association to include Epinephrine auto-injectors in EMKs, represents a problem that can simply no longer fly.
We thank you in advance for your consideration of our request and look forward to hearing from you about next steps the Association, in concert with the FAA, will take to safeguard airline passengers with severe allergies.
Sincerely,
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