American Airlines won’t resume alcohol sales in its main cabin until September.<\/p>\n
An internal memo to flight attendants Saturday says\u00a0economy passengers will have to wait until at least Sept. 13\u00a0before they can order a mid-flight drink. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline had previously announced\u00a0plans to end its pause on alcohol sales in\u00a0the economy cabin this summer but hadn’t set a date.<\/p>\n
The federal\u00a0face mask requirement for airplanes,\u00a0airports and other modes of transportation currently runs through Sept. 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alcohol sales in American Airlines’\u00a0<\/strong>main cabins\u00a0were first suspended in late March 2020 to limit interactions between passengers and flight attendants amid the COVID pandemic. The decision to continue no alcohol sales through\u00a0most of the summer\u00a0comes after numerous accounts of unruly passengers in recent months, including one incident\u00a0in which a Southwest Airlines flight attendant lost two teeth after allegedly being assaulted by a passenger.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past week we\u2019ve seen some of these stressors create deeply disturbing situations on board aircraft. Let me be clear: American Airlines will not tolerate assault or mistreatment of our crews,\u201d Vice President of Flight Service Brady Byrnes said in the memo. \u201cWhile we appreciate that customers and crewmembers are eager to return to \u2018normal,\u2019 we will move cautiously and deliberately when restoring pre-COVID practices.\u201d<\/p>\n Uptick in unruly passengers: <\/strong>Southwest Airlines passenger who allegedly struck flight attendant charged with felony battery<\/span><\/p>\n Pre-departure beverage services remain suspended in the premium cabin (first and business class), but alcohol will continue to be offered in flight. Snack baskets will return in the premium cabin\u00a0and will be offered on flights between 500 and 899 miles.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the main cabin, nonalcoholic beverages like canned drinks, juice, coffee and water will be available upon request for flights under 250 miles\u00a0and will be included on longer flights.\u00a0<\/p>\n Southwest Airlines also ditched plans to resume alcohol sales this summer after the uptick in violent incidents with passengers. The airline did not say when it plans to resume alcohol sales.\u00a0<\/p>\nSo what does that mean for passengers?\u00a0<\/h2>\n