The Department of Transportation has dismissed a complaint against Southwest Airlines by four national advocacy groups for nut allergy sufferers who accused the Dallas-based carrier of violating federal law when it changed pre-boarding rules, effectively discriminating against their members.
The complaint dates all the way back to late 2022, when Southwest Airlines barred nut allergy sufferers from pre-boarding the plane in order to give them the opportunity to wipe down and sanitize their seat area and prevent possible contamination from nut particles left behind by other passengers.
Airlines have been required to offer pre-boarding to nut allergy sufferers since 2019, when the DOT ruled that not doing so was a breach of the Air Carrier Access Act because…