American Airlines Will Resume Sales of In-Flight Alcohol in April

Travelers will soon be able to buy alcohol again on flights with American Airlines, which announced Thursday that alcohol sales will resume on April 18.

American will be the last major U.S. airline to resume selling alcohol on flights, CNBC reported.

Carriers paused alcohol sales in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as travel plummeted, but services have been gradually resuming as demand recovers. American Airlines initially planned to resume sales of beer, wine and spirits earlier, but it delayed the plans last May after an increase in the number of unruly passengers, CNBC reported.

Southwest made a similar move due to disruptions by travelers, including one who punched a flight attendant. In November 2021, a woman aboard a Spirit Airlines flight was arrested for allegedly assaulting two flight attendants while intoxicated. Flight attendant unions have said that mask mandate pushback and alcohol consumption have played a part in flight disruptions.

Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union, told NPR's Michel Martin in an August interview that it has "never seen this number of incidents in the skies." She said that flight attendants receive training in de-escalation tactics and contending with disruptive passengers, "but this is not a one-off incident."

"Every day, when flight attendants are putting on their uniforms, they're thinking—is this the day I'm going to get punched in the face? It's just that commonplace," she said.

She added that the union was being told by its members that the mask issues and alcohol consumption, even without on-flight alcohol sales, were to blame for the surge.

"We've got more people who are drinking and bringing those drinks onboard, which you're not allowed to do under federal regulations," Nelson told Martin.

A July survey of nearly 5,000 flight attendants released by the union found that more than 85 percent of respondents had to deal with unruly travelers as travel recovered in the first half of 2021. Of the respondents, 17 percent said they had experienced a physical incident.

"Flight attendants reported facing extensive verbal abuse, including from visibly drunk passengers, passengers yelling and swearing in response to masking directions and often aggressively challenging flight crew working to ensure compliance with federal rules," the survey press release said.

When American does resume alcohol sales, they will be available on flights longer than 250 miles, CNBC reported. Like other major airlines, American offers complimentary alcoholic beverages for long international flights and in first class.

A spokesperson for the airline told Newsweek that the decision to resume alcohol sales came after listening to customer feedback and that the safety of employees and customers "is our number one priority." Those who consume alcohol on flights and do not act responsibly will face consequences, the spokesperson said.

"We will continue to thoroughly assess any incidents involving individuals who are suspected of intoxication or pose a threat to the safety of our team members. Customers involved in these incidents may not be permitted to travel on American in the future pending the outcome of our investigation," they added.

Newsweek has reached out to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA for comment.

Update 03/18/22, 5:05 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from American Airlines.