Southwest Ends Cabin Service Early to Reduce Risk of Injury

December 3, 2024

Southwest Airlines says it is ending cabin service earlier on flights, requiring passengers to do the usual pre-landing procedures such as ensuring their seatbelts are fastened and returning their seats to an upright position earlier than before.

Starting on Dec. 4, a company spokesperson said in an AP report, flight attendants will start preparing the cabin for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) instead of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The change in procedure is designed to “reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries” for crew members and passengers, the company said.

While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries have piled up over the years. More than one-third of all airline incidents in the United States from 2009 through 2018 were related to turbulence, and most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries but no damage to the plane, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.

In May, a 73-year old man died on board a Singapore Airlines flight when the plane hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, turbulence on a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Miami in July 2021 resulted in a flight attendant “striking the floor hard” in the aft galley and being diagnosed with “a fractured compressed vertebra.”

More Changes in the Air at Southwest

Southwest also announced other changes earlier this year. Starting next year, the airline will toss out a half-century tradition of “open seating” — passengers picking their own seats after boarding the plane. Announced in July, the new procedure will be implemented to increase revenue and in response to feedback from customers, 80 percent of whom report preferring an assigned seat, Southwest said.

In addition, Southwest recently introduced a new bamboo cup for inflight cold beverages and a wood stir stick with the carrier’s iconic Heart branding. Both the new cup and stir stick are part of the carrier’s ongoing work toward its goal to eliminate, where feasible, single-use plastics from inflight service by 2030.