The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is considering a proposal that would require commercial airlines to carry a supply of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone on passenger aircraft. Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin of Rhode Island urged FAA Administrator Steve Dickson in a letter to implement the rule after reports that a passenger died of an opioid overdose on a flight from Boston to Los Angeles in July.
“I think the airlines need to be prepared for any type of emergency,” Langevin said of the proposal.
“As opioid overdoses continue to claim thousands of lives each year, we must ensure access to life-saving treatments both on the ground and in the air,” said Langevin in a press release. “Despite incidents of airline passengers suffering opioid-induced overdoses, drugs like naloxone are not currently required on board passenger aircraft. I am pleased the FAA shares my concerns on this issue and is working to include overdose reversal drugs in emergency medical kits on board airlines going forward.”
FAA Review of Airplane Medical Kits Underway
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 required the FAA to evaluate modifications to the equipment required for emergency medical kits carried on commercial aircraft. As part of the review, the FAA requested the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) to study current requirements. AsMA recommended that medical kits be updated to include opioid overdose reversal drugs, and the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine has agreed with that finding.
Dickson said in a letter replying to Langevin that the agency was considering how to best implement the recommendation that naloxone being included in the emergency medical kits carried aboard passenger airliners. Before issuing a new rule, the FAA will study the cost and other impacts of