Luton Airport has become the first UK airport to install emergency anaphylaxis kits across its terminal, with staff being trained to respond to severe allergic reactions.
The wall-mounted kits have been installed at more than 10 key locations across the airport, including the Security Hall, Departure Lounge, Immigration and Baggage Reclaim.
The kits contain emergency adrenaline pens and are designed to provide rapid access to treatment for people experiencing anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that can be triggered by food, medicines, insect stings and environmental factors.
The airport says all of its staff are receiving mandatory training as part of the rollout, with hundreds completing the training within the first few days.
The kits are intended primarily to protect airport employees who may be at risk of a severe allergic reaction, but can also be used to help passengers and other visitors in an emergency.
Like a defibrillator, the kits include instructions for use, allowing them to be used by trained staff during an emergency while waiting for further medical assistance.
Dan Cartwright, head of airfield operations at London Luton Airport, said: “London Luton Airport serves millions of passengers each year and our teams across the airport play a vital role in ensuring that everyone is safe. We’re proud to be the first UK airport to install Anaphylaxis Kitts.
“Initiatives such as this form a key part of our wider partnership with East of England Ambulance Service which sees LLA’s Fire and Rescue service trained to respond to the most serious medical emergencies within the airport boundary and ensures LLA staff are equipped with the skills to offer immediate medical support while waiting for ambulance crews to arrive.”
The initiative has been developed with Kitt Medical, a company founded by Zak Marks, who has lived with allergies since childhood.
He said: “As a young boy growing up with allergies – and still to this day as an adult, passing through an airport and flying can be one of the scariest things to do. Knowing that there are emergency adrenaline pens and trained staff as a result of our Anaphylaxis Kitt rollout across Luton Airport provides me – and I hope the millions of other allergy sufferers across the UK – with a great deal of comfort. I am immensely proud of what we have done here, and a huge thank you to David and the rest of the team at LLA for working so hard to put our Kitts in place.”
Luton Airport watch manager, David Gardner, who is the medical lead for the airport’s co-responder scheme, played a central role in bringing the kits to the airport.
He said: “This is a fantastic example of how London Luton Airport continues to seek new, innovative ways to further enhance the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and passengers. Our co-responder agreement with East of England Ambulance Service enabled us to identify this opportunity to support people living with allergies, as they travel through the airport. I’m proud to have worked with my colleagues across the airport and Kitt Medical to provide this additional level of care.”
The airport’s co-responder agreement with the East of England Ambulance Service means its Fire and Rescue Service is trained to respond to serious medical emergencies within the airport while ambulance crews are on their way.
Kitt Medical says more than 5,000 of its emergency kits have now been installed in schools and qualifying businesses across the UK since the company launched in 2023. It says more than 65,000 people have received training through the service and its kits have been used to treat more than 50 life-threatening allergic reactions.
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