Southwest Airlines says it is ending its cabin service earlier on flights from next month.
Starting Dec. 4, a company spokesman said, flight attendants will begin preparing the cabin for landings at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) to 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The procedural change is designed to “reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries” to crew and passengers, the company said.
For passengers, this means they will have to go through the usual pre-landing procedures, such as fasten their seat belts and return their seats to the upright position, sooner than before.
Although turbulence-related deaths are relatively rare, the wounds have piled up over the years From 2009 to 2018, more than a third of all airline incidents in the United States involved turbulence, most of which resulted in one or more serious injuries but no damage to the aircraft. It is reported by the National Transportation Safety Board.
In May, a 73-year-old man He died on a Singapore Airlines flight when the plane hit heavy turbulence over the Indian Ocean.
The airline had previously announced other changes as well.
Starting next year, Southwest will throw half a century the tradition of “open seats”. — passengers take their seats after boarding the plane.
