Nov. 30 (UPI) — Southwest Airlines is ending in-flight service sooner than beforehand completed in an effort to scale back the chance of damage to cabin crew.
The low-cost airline primarily based in Dallas confirmed the news this weekthat its cabin crew will finish responsibility and start preparation for touchdown when flights attain an altitude of 18,000 toes.
The rule change is predicted to take impact on Wednesday.
Southwest flight crews had already begun preparations for touchdown at 10,000 toes.
The change is to make issues safer for the airline’s cabin workers and cut back the chance of turbulence-related accidents, which means seats must be upright, tray tables blocked and baggage stowed sooner.
The Dallas-based low-cost airline confirmed information this week that its cabin crew will finish responsibility and start getting ready for touchdown when flights attain an altitude of 18,000 toes with the rule change anticipated to return in efficient Wednesday. File photograph by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
“The change in procedures is designed to scale back the chance of in-flight turbulence accidents for our crew members and clients. It is the results of the airline’s shut collaboration with its working companions and a strong strategy to security administration ,” Southwest he said in a statement to USA TODAY.
“Nothing is extra necessary to Southwest Airlines than the protection of our clients and staff.”
The change is to make issues safer for the airline’s cabin crew and cut back the chance of turbulence-related accidents for flight attendants. File photograph by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
The 53-year-old airline operates greater than 800 plane, exclusively composed of a number of variants of the Boeing 737, making it the fourth largest industrial fleet on this planet.
The turbulence aboard the flights attracted appreciable public consideration, though the airline didn’t say it was making the change in response to a particular incident.
Southwest flight crews had already begun preparations for touchdown at 10,000 toes. File photograph by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
“Evaluation of 1000’s of knowledge factors from flight attendant and pilot experiences, mixed with data from the Flight Data Analytics Program, confirmed that seating our flight attendants earlier ought to cut back flight attendant accidents flight by a minimum of 20%,” Southwest stated in an inside memo to staff, obtained from View From The Wing.
“Flight and flight operations will validate the effectiveness of those new procedures, and if we don’t obtain the specified end result, we are going to proceed to search out options. We are additionally dedicated to periodically sharing updates on these findings.”
In July “sturdy” the turbulence injured several passengers aboard an Air Europa flight from Spain to Uruguay.
The subsequent month a United Airlines flight needed to divert and make an emergency landing in Tennessee after seven individuals had been injured when turbulence hit Louisiana.