From today's Toronto Star:

"Air Canada adds nuts to no-fly list
Nut-free 'buffer zone' ordered for travellers with severe allergies

Noor Javed Staff Reporter
Published On Fri Jan 08 2010

There is business class, first class, economy class. Coming soon to an airplane near you: nut-free class.

Air Canada has been told to create a nut-free "buffer zone" on all flights to accommodate passengers who suffer from severe nut allergies. Thursday's decision by the Canadian Transportation Agency followed complaints from two passengers about the inconsistent and difficult experiences they faced when they asked Air Canada to accommodate their severe nut allergies.

"There was clearly no policy. I was getting a different story on every flight," said complainant and frequent traveller Sophia Huyer. "Certain individual flight attendants, if they understand the issue of allergies, would accommodate me, but often it was left up to the captain or staff to make that decision."

Huyer filed the complaint in June 2006 after two flights where she had asked flight staff to not serve nuts. On one, the flight attendant said she could get off the plane and take a later flight. She did. The next time, she stayed on board. When the attendant insisted on serving nuts, Huyer locked herself in the washroom for 40 minutes.

"I felt like I was in a life-threatening situation," said Huyer, whose severe allergy can make it difficult for her to breathe, give her a rash, and cause her tongue to swell if she is even around nuts.

The agency ruled Huyer's allergy can be classified as a disability, and must be accommodated.

Air Canada has 30 days to submit comments on the decision, including how long in advance a person needs to notify the airline for a buffer zone to be created, and how large the zone should be, depending on the aircraft.

Air Canada stopped serving peanuts on flights more than a decade ago, but continues to give out almonds and mixed nuts in business and first class. Porter Airlines serves almonds and says it can accommodate passengers with 48 hours' notice. WestJet doesn't serve nuts, and has used the buffer zone approach for years.

Huyer said she is glad to see a final decision, but doesn't feel the ruling goes far enough. She thinks nuts should be completely banned.

"I know no area can be totally nut-free, but if you're serving nuts, you are actively increasing the risk anyway."

The nut-free zone is among a long list of recent changes introduced on airlines, such as allowances for animals on planes, allowances for those with allergies to animals, and a Supreme Court ruling that those deemed medically obese be allowed to have two seats when flying.

"That's just the way the world seems to be going," said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick."

Given some of the people I have had to sit near, I think a nut-free zone is a very good idea.

So true

The nut-free zone is a consequence of hysteria. It might be more correct to say that it's a zone actually loaded with nuts of all kinds. Consider:

1. The mere odor of nuts will not trigger food allergies. Multiple studies have shown this.

2. The chances of developing anaphylaxis from a food allergy are about one in 880,000.

3. There isn't any way to prevent peanut particles in one part of the plane from traveling to another part of the plane (although, in reality, peanut particles don't actually float around, anyway).

4. There isn't any way to ensure that a nut-free zone doesn't contain peanut fragments, since the entire aircraft is open and since the entire aircraft is regularly cleaned, spreading any peanut fragments around.

5. Even eliminating peanuts entirely will not help, because peanut fragments can linger in the cabin long after they have stopped serving them.

But the real solution is for hysterical people with real or alleged peanut allergies to stay on the ground and find other transportation, instead of disrupting an entire flight in an unconscious attempt to gain attention and celebrity.

Can anyone say "Epi-Pen?"

LOL Pavot