American Airlines Resumes Alcohol Sales – Americans Are (Likely) Resuming Unruly Behavior

Beginning April 18, in conjunction with the end of the federal mask mandate, American Airlines will resume alcohol service onboard short-haul domestic and international flights, making it the last major U.S. carrier to do so.

“Our customers have expressed the importance of having these options on board to their experience with us,” the airline said. said in a press release.

But while those who appreciate the occasional in-flight libation (current airline included) will rejoice, the decision to make alcohol readily available on board given the current climate still seems…reckless. Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded 5,981 reports of unruly passengers. As of March 14, there had been 889 reports of a similar nature over the year.

Just over a month ago, an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. made a quick emergency landing in Kansas City after an unruly passenger attempted to enter the cockpit and open an exit door mid-flight. About a week after that, a man on a flight from southwest Dallas to Burbank was arrested for urinate on the floor outside the bathroom. This flight was also hijacked after the passenger became hostile towards flight attendants. This week a Flight to Colorado from Alabama was also turned away after a presumably inebriated woman became riotous, demanding more alcohol and refusing to wear a mask.

All this to say: reports of unruly passengers always come in too frequently to introduce alcohol into the equation.

Of course, it should be noted that, of the 889 reports filed this year, 587 of them were related to face masks, which – assuming the mask mandate actually expires on April 18 – will no longer be a contentious factor. in the future. It could also be argued that alcohol consumption is not explicitly indicated in all cases of unruly behavior. But, all that said, it’s been another eventful year and a half in the skies – and we’re not talking about the atmospheric variety. From this perspective, it stands to reason that the incorporation of alcohol into an already chaotic environment will not bode well for anyone.

With flight attendants regularly speak out against alcohol sales on short flights, American’s decision will no doubt cause the airline to question the safety of passengers and flight attendants. Masks may soon be gone, but the types of people committing these incidents probably aren’t.