Southwest Airlines Brings Back Much-Demanded Food Service

Southwest Airlines is making a change that passengers will want to celebrate the next time they take to the skies. The airline had removed alcohol options from flights in March 2020 due to the pandemic, but soon beer, wine and hard liquor will be revived on flights. Not everybody is happy about the decision, though.

The change will drop on Feb. 16, making American Airlines the only major airline to not resume alcoholic beverage service on flights. Southwest will also offer more non-alcoholic options like hot chocolate, Coke Zero and tonic water.

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“Customers have expressed a desire for more beverage options, so we’re delighted to restore additional on-board offerings as a part of the Southwest hospitality that our customers know and love,” Southwest VP of customer experience and relations said in a news release.

Not everybody is happy about the return of alcoholic beverages to Southwest flights. The union that represents the Southwest flight attendants called the decision “unsafe and irresponsible.”

“We have adamantly and unequivocally informed management that resuming sales of alcohol while the mask mandate is in place has the great potential to increase customer non-compliance and misconduct issues,” TWU Local 556 representative Lyn Montgomery said in a response. Their feelings shouldn’t be a surprise given the parade of viral outbursts we’ve seen for two years.

According to CNN, Delta Air Lines resumed their beverage services in July 2020 for First Class and Delta Comfort+ passengers, expanding to the Main Cabin in April 2021. American Airlines provided a statement to the outlet on their delay on returning to alcohol service on flights.

“We will continue to evaluate the situation and work closely with the union that represents our flight attendants, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, and medical experts on this process to determine when we will return to full service in the main cabin,” a statement from American read.

November saw the FAA propose a total of $161,823 in fines for passengers involved in alcohol-fueled moments. As CNN notes, 2021 was the worst year on record for unruly and disruptive passenger behavior. The situation got so bad that the FAA installed a zero-tolerance policy that skipped warnings and levied fines and penalties on the first offense.