Health Wagon Leaders Call for Narcan on All Commercial Flights

(WISE, Va.) — Dr. Teresa Tyson, DNP, MSN, FNP-BC, FAANP, President and CEO of The Health Wagon, and Dr. Paula Hill-Collins, DNP, FAANP, Vice President and Clinical Director of The Health Wagon, are calling on the public to submit comments to the Federal Aviation Administration in support of requiring naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, on all commercial passenger flights.

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The request comes after Dr. Tyson experienced a terrifying in-flight medical emergency last fall, when a passenger suffered a life-threatening event onboard an aircraft. The patient became unresponsive with no respirations and no pulse. Dr. Tyson responded to the event, and three other nurses assisted in the emergency response.

Together, they initiated lifesaving care, AED evaluation, assisted with ventilation by bagging the patient, started an IV, administered emergency medications available onboard, and continued emergency measures. The patient survived.

The situation was not determined to be a drug overdose. However, during the initial emergency assessment, the event brought immediate awareness to a serious gap in onboard emergency preparedness: Narcan was not available in the event that opioid overdose had been part of the differential diagnosis.

"In that moment, at 35,000 feet, every second mattered. We had a patient with no respirations and no pulse. We did everything possible with the tools available, and by the grace of God, we were able to get respirations and pulse back due to quick actions, and the patient lived. While this situation was not determined to be an overdose, it made one thing very clear: if Narcan had been needed, it was not available. That should concern every passenger, provider, and airline." — Dr. Tyson

"Opioid overdose can happen anywhere. It can happen in a home, in a school, in a parking lot, in a church, or on an airplane. When it happens in the air, help is delayed. The aircraft becomes the emergency setting until that plane lands. Commercial flights must be equipped for that reality." — Dr. Hill-Collins

Narcan is a safe, easy-to-administer opioid overdose reversal medication. It is already carried by many first responders, law enforcement agencies, schools, libraries, churches, community organizations, and public venues across the United States. Yet it is not universally required on commercial passenger aircraft.

The FAA is currently accepting public comments on proposed changes to emergency medical kit requirements for commercial airline operations. This is a critical opportunity for patients, families, healthcare providers, flight crews, addiction recovery advocates, rural health leaders, and concerned citizens to speak up.

Dr. Tyson and Dr. Hill-Collins are asking the public to submit comments urging the FAA to require intranasal naloxone/Narcan on all commercial passenger aircraft as part of the onboard emergency medical kit.

"Flight attendants and medical volunteers who respond onboard should not be placed in the impossible position of trying to save a life without a medication that could reverse an opioid overdose," said Dr. Tyson. "Narcan is simple. It is safe. It is lifesaving. It should be on every plane."

"This is not about assuming every emergency is an overdose," Dr. Hill-Collins added. "It is about being prepared when seconds matter and when the cause of respiratory failure may not be immediately known. Narcan is one more lifesaving tool that should be available in every aircraft emergency medical kit."

How to Submit a Public Comment

The public may submit comments to the FAA through October 5, 2026.

Go directly to the comment page or search Regulations.gov using the docket number below.

Direct comment link: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FAA-2026-9178-0001

Search: regulations.gov and enter FAA-2026-9178

Sample Public Comment to Copy and Paste

I respectfully urge the Federal Aviation Administration to require intranasal naloxone/Narcan on all commercial passenger aircraft as a mandatory item in emergency medical kits.

Opioid overdose is a time-sensitive, life-threatening medical emergency. During a flight, emergency medical services are delayed until the aircraft lands and ground responders arrive. In those critical minutes, passengers, flight crews, and onboard medical volunteers need access to lifesaving tools.

Narcan is safe, easy to administer, non-addictive, and widely used by first responders, law enforcement, schools, libraries, churches, and public organizations. It has minimal downside if administered when opioids are not the cause, but it can save a life when opioids are involved.

Not every in-flight emergency is an overdose. However, during the initial assessment of an unresponsive passenger with respiratory failure or cardiac arrest, opioid overdose may need to be considered as part of the differential diagnosis. In that moment, the medication must be immediately available.

Aircraft already carry emergency medical kits and AEDs because some emergencies cannot wait. Opioid overdose reversal should be treated with the same urgency.

I ask the FAA to require that every Part 121 commercial passenger aircraft carry at least two doses of intranasal naloxone/Narcan, include clear instructions for use, and require flight crew training on recognition and response to suspected opioid overdose.

A preventable death in flight is unacceptable. Narcan should be on every commercial flight.

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