Southwest Delays Resumption of Alcohol Service on Flights

Southwest planned to resume the sale of alcohol this summer but it has passed on that idea after an altercation between a flight attendant and a passenger.

“Given the recent uptick in industry-wide incidents of passenger disruptions in-flight, we have made the decision to pause the previously announced restart of alcohol service onboard,” Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz told USA TODAY. “We realize this decision may be disappointing for some customers, but we feel this is the right decision at this time in the interest of the safety and comfort of all customers and crew on board.”

The airline was only serving water due to the Covid-19 pandemic but has brought back some beverage service. Currently, the airline offers select soft drinks, including Coke, Diet Coke, 7 Up and water.

The airline was going to start serving alcohol on flights to Hawaii in June and on other flights in July. There is currently no timeline for when alcohol service would begin again.

The news comes just after Southwest banned an unruly passenger for attacking a flight attendant after the video went viral.