Unruly behavior by passengers aboard flights has prompted two major U.S. airlines to delay plans to resume selling alcohol. 


What You Need To Know

  • Southwest and American airlines announced it recent days they have delayed plans to resume selling alcohol, citing unruly behavior by passengers

  • A number of airlines stopped serving alcohol last year to limit interactions between flight attendants and passengers during the pandemic

  • Word of Southwest’s extended ban came days after a woman was charged with punching one of its flight attendants in the face, an incident that was captured on video and went viral online

  • The Federal Aviation Administration says it has received about 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers this year, including about 1,900 related to passengers who refuse to wear masks on planes

American Airlines announced over the weekend it has joined Southwest in keeping the bans in place after a rash of incidents involving disruptive and sometimes violent passengers. 

A number of airlines stopped serving alcohol last year to limit interactions between flight attendants and passengers during the pandemic. 

Dallas-based Southwest had announced last month that it planned to resume alcohol sales on Hawaii flights in June and other flights in July. But the carrier announced Friday it had backed off those plans, citing a “recent uptick industrywide of incidents in-flight involving disruptive passengers.”

“We realize this decision will be disappointing for some customers, but we feel it to be the right decision now in the interest of safety and comfort of all onboard,” the statement said.

Word of Southwest’s extended ban came days after a woman was charged with punching one of its flight attendants in the face, an incident that was captured on video and went viral online.

The airline said the passenger — identified by police Vyvianna Quinonez, 28 — ignored instructions from the flight attendant after the plane landed May 23 in San Diego. The flight attendant lost two teeth, according to her union. Quinonez was charged with felony battery and has been banned for life from flying Southwest.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American announced Saturday that alcohol sales in the main cabins of its planes will remain suspended through Sept. 13, the same date when the federal mandate on masks aboard airplanes is set to expire.  

“Over the past week we’ve seen some of these stressors create deeply disturbing situations on board aircraft,” Brady Byrnes, vice president of flight services, wrote in a memo to American’s flight attendants, according to multiple reports. “Let me be clear: American Airlines will not tolerate assault or mistreatment of our crews.”

American is continuing to serve alcohol in its first and business classes, but not until flights are in the air.

Southwest did not provide a timeframe for when it might resume alcohol sales.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it has received about 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers this year, including about 1,900 related to passengers who refuse to wear masks on planes. 

The FAA in recent weeks has announced it has proposed fines for as much as $52,500 for unruly passengers, some of whom have allegedly assaulted flight attendants. 

Lyn Montgomery, president of TWU Local 556, wrote in a letter last week that there had been 477 passenger-misconduct incidents on Southwest flights from April 8 to May 15. 

In an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged travelers to treat transportation workers with respect.

“Just remember that the flight crews and other workers you encounter, they’re doing their job,” he said. “They're following regulations, and they're there to keep you safe. It is absolutely unacceptable to ever mistreat a transportation worker, and of course, there is very serious fines and enforcement around that.”

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