2 Airlines Will Postpone Serving Alcohol Amid Surge of In-Flight Violence

American Airlines announced a similar policy on Saturday.

It said that alcohol sales, which had been suspended in the main cabin since late March 2020, would remain suspended through Sept. 13, when a federal mandate requiring passengers to wear masks on airplanes, buses and trains is set to expire.

In a memo, American said it recognized that “alcohol can contribute to atypical behavior from customers onboard and we owe it to our crew not to potentially exacerbate what can already be a new and stressful situation for our customers.”

“Over the past week we’ve seen some of these stressors create deeply disturbing situations on board aircraft,” said the memo, which was issued to American’s flight attendants on Saturday. “Let me be clear: American Airlines will not tolerate assault or mistreatment of our crews.”

American said that alcohol would continue to be served in first class and business class, but only during the flight and not before departure.

The changes came after Lyn Montgomery, the president of Transport Workers Union Local 556, which represents flight attendants on Southwest Airlines, urged the airline’s chief executive, Gary Kelly, to stop the “abuse” employees have been facing.

“We ask that you take a strong stance to ensure that unruly passengers are not welcome to travel with us, period, full stop,” she wrote in a letter to Mr. Kelly on Monday. “Flight crews must feel safe and supported when reporting to work.”

The changes also came after the F.A.A. said on Monday that it had proposed fines of $9,000 to $15,000 for five passengers who had exhibited disruptive behavior on flights.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/29/business/american-southwest-passengers-alcohol.html