A federal agency recognized food allergy as a disability, then limited boarding protection to one allergen category. Lianne Mandelbaum, a leading advocate for airline safety measures to protect food-allergic passengers, returns to explain how the March 2026 DOT ruling created a hierarchy within a single medical condition, leaving passengers with egg, sesame, milk, shellfish, and wheat allergies without the same pre-boarding rights granted to those with peanut and tree nut allergies. This episode is based on her article “How the new DOT ruling on food allergies threatens air travel safety,” published on KevinMD. You will hear about a Southwest captain who removed a passenger for asking to pre-board with a pistachio allergy, an allergen that is covered under the new ruling. You will also hear why a Northwestern survey of 4,704 food-allergic travelers found that 98 percent experience flight anxiety and 70 percent were promised accommodations that never arrived. Hear why the guest says this ruling cements airline inconsistency as federal policy, and what physicians can do to push back.
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