The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed its bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill through committee, including a provision requiring the FAA to update emergency medical kits on board commercial airplanes so they contain appropriate medications and medical equipment for children. This provision was modeled after S. 2536, the Airplane Kids in Transit Safety Act, which directs the FAA to begin a public rule-making process to review and update the contents of the emergency medical kits within a year of the bill’s enactment.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the current emergency medical kits are unable to treat the most common medical emergencies that occur in children during air travel, which include seizures, asthma attacks, and anaphylaxis. Congress has not required the FAA to update the emergency medical kits on airplanes since 1998, making a review of their contents long overdue and necessary.

NAEMT has been working with the AAP and other emergency medical organizations to ensure that these kits are updated. NAEMT will continue to work to ensure passage of a final FAA reauthorization bill that provides for proper medicines and medical equipment on commercial airplanes.