Southwest is encouraging flight attendants to add a line to their preflight announcements, reminding customers that they are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages they bring onboard. The move comes as more customers are bringing their own booze onto planes while the carrier has suspended alcohol service due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We've seen a rise in these situations, so we want to take this opportunity to remind customers about the regulations," Southwest spokesman Dan Landson said.
According to a report in USA Today, Southwest manager of inflight safety, standards and regulatory compliance Kari Kriesel sent a memo to the carrier's flight attendants on July 30, telling them that the line about not drinking their own alcohol should be added alongside longstanding preflight warnings about smoking and tampering with the lavatory smoke detector.
According to the report, the memo said that flight attendants who catch passengers imbibing their own drinks should avoid confiscating sealed containers and instead allow customers to stow those containers for the remainder of the flight.