After Nearly Two Years, Southwest Airlines Brings Alcohol Back On Airplanes

Southwest Airlines fleet illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/elisfkc)

JAKARTA - Southwest Airlines, one of the major US airlines, has returned to bringing alcoholic beverages on flights this month after suspending its sales in March 2020.

Beer, wine and liquor will be offered again from February 16, the airline said in a statement.

With the announcement of this plan, American Airlines is the only one of the four major United States airlines, which has not resumed alcohol sales.

At Southwest, non-alcoholic beverage services will also expand on February 16 to include options such as tonic water, Coke Zero and hot chocolate. Beverage service is available on flights 176 miles or more.

"Customers have expressed a desire for more beverage choices, so we're pleased to return this additional offer on board, as part of the Southwest hospitality our customers know and love," said Tony Roach, vice president of Southwest Customer Experience and Customer Relations, in a release. news.

Meanwhile, the union representing Southwest Airlines flight attendants said continuing alcohol service was "unsafe and irresponsible."

Lyn Montgomery of TWU Local 556 said unions opposed Southwest's move, saying it was difficult to enforce the federal mask mandate on planes because it puts flight attendants at risk.

Illustration of an in-flight meal for the Southwest Airlines fleet. (Wikimedia Commons/Patrick Pelletier)

"We firmly and unequivocally notify management that resuming alcohol sales while the mask mandate is in place has great potential to escalate the problem of non-compliance and customer abuse," Montgomery said in a statement.

Prior to Southwest, other airlines had resumed serving alcohol United Airlines resumed selling liquor in November. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines will again serve beer and wine to First Class and Delta Comfort+ customers on domestic flights in July 2020.

Then, Delta also added alcohol sales back to its Main Cabin offering on some domestic flights in April 2021.

American Airlines, the last major opponent of alcohol services, told CNN it has not set a return date for alcohol in its main cabin.

"We will continue to evaluate the situation and are working closely with the union representing our flight attendants, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and medical experts in this process to determine when we will return to full service in the main cabin," the airline said in a statement.

To note, incidents involving alcohol have become one of the more serious cases of misbehaving passengers during the pandemic.

In November, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposed a total of $161,823, as fines against passengers involved in alcohol-related incidents.

Last year was the worst record for misbehaving passengers. Early in 2021, the FAA announced a 'zero tolerance' policy for non-compliant passenger behavior, who skip warnings or counseling and face penalties, which can include heavy fines and jail time.