Alcohol sales to return to Southwest flights after nearly two years

Starting Feb. 16, Southwest will sell alcohol on flights at least 176 miles long.

FILE - In this April 20, 2021 file photo, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Thanks to strong passenger traffic over the winter holidays, Southwest Airlines is reporting a $68 million profit for the fourth quarter. Southwest said Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 it was the airline's first profit without federal pandemic aid since late 2019. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (Wilfredo Lee, Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

DALLASSouthwest Airlines will resume alcohol sales on most of its flights this month after nearly two years, a pause it extended last spring because of a surge in disruptive passengers.

The move further heightened tension between the airline and its 16,000-member flight attendants’ union, which called the resumption of alcohol sales “unsafe and irresponsible.”

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The Dallas-based airline originally paused alcohol and other services in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Last week, the airline’s COO said the carrier would likely bring alcohol sales back late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter.

Read more on NBC News here.


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