American Airlines extends ban on alcohol sales.
American Airlines has announced an extension to its alcohol ban, saying it will not serve drinks to economy class passengers until at least January 2022.
Earlier in the year, the carrier said it would hold off on resuming alcohol service in the main cabin through September 13.
However, with the TSA’s federal mask mandate for airports and planes being extended until at least next year, American decided to align its alcohol ban with it.
Many analysts say American also took into consideration the exponential growth in unruly behaviour in the sky.
The FAA is receiving about 100 reports per week of unruly and physically violent behaviour of passengers, leading to many flight attendants to share their concerns about their safety.
“We are doing all we can to help create a safe environment for our crew and customers onboard our aircraft,” Stacey Frantz, American’s senior manager of flight service policies, wrote in a staff note Wednesday.
Frantz also said the airline is “gaining ground” in its efforts to get the Federal Aviation Administration to stop alcohol to-go sales at its hub airports in Dallas and Charlotte, among other airports.
The FAA earlier this month urged airport operators to remind travellers that they cannot bring alcohol on board flights.
“Our investigations show that alcohol often contributes to this unsafe behavior,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson wrote to airport officials on Aug. 3.
“The FAA requests that airports work with their concessionaires to help avoid this.”
Many airlines first suspended alcohol sales in spring 2020 to minimize interaction between crew and passengers and to ensure safer flights as the virus spread around the world.
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