American Airlines Extends Alcohol Service Suspension After Southwest Airlines Assault

Following reports of unruly customers on other carriers, American Airlines has extended the prohibition on in-flight alcohol serving until September.

The judgment was made public on Saturday, one day after Southwest Airlines barred a customer accused of assaulting a flight attendant and knocking out two of her teeth.

“Every day, flight attendants are on the front lines not just guaranteeing our customers’ safety, but also easing worries, answering concerns, and enforcing laws like federally mandated face masks,” according to the memo.

“We’ve seen some of these factors cause extremely unsettling situations onboard planes during the last week.”

According to the document, alcohol will be available in first and business class.

“We’ve seen some of these factors generate very troubling situations onboard planes over the past week,” the firm wrote in the memo.

“Let me be clear, abuse or maltreatment of our personnel will not be tolerated by American Airlines.”

Southwest Airlines stated on Friday that it will not restart serving alcohol due to an increase in passenger misbehavior around the country.

The Federal Aviation Administration revealed earlier this week that airlines had documented 2,500 incidences of rowdy customers in 2021. At least 1,900 examples of passengers refusing to wear face masks are included in this total.

In a normal year, the agency sees 100 to 150 official cases of inappropriate passenger behavior. Unruly customers have been fined up to $15,000 this year for berating or physically abusing flight attendants and diverting flight workers’ attention away from their tasks, including pilots.

During a disagreement on a Southwest aircraft from Sacramento to San Diego last weekend, witnesses said a 28-year-old customer attacked a flight attendant. Southwest stated women “repeatedly disobeyed routine inflight directives and became verbally and physically violent upon landing,” according to a statement.

The flight attendant was “severely attacked, resulting in damage to the face and the loss of two teeth,” according to Lyn Montgomery, president of the Transport Workers Union of America Local 556.

The flight attendant was taken to a hospital for treatment by paramedics. Her suspected assailant was apprehended and charged with severe bodily injury battery.