FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines announced Saturday that it was extending its suspension of alcohol service in the main cabin of flights through Sept. 13.
The decision was revealed in an internal memo to flight attendants of the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline, KXAS reported.
American Airlines joined Southwest Airlines, which also suspended alcohol services on flights. The decision follows the assault of a Southwest flight attendant earlier this month that resulted in the loss of two teeth and facial injuries.
>> Southwest flight attendant loses 2 teeth after altercation with passenger
“Flight attendants are on the front lines every day not only ensuring our customers’ safety, but are also calming fears, answering questions, and enforcing policies like federally required face masks,” Brady Byrnes, managing director of flight service at American, wrote in the memo to flight attendants, KXAS reported. “Over the past week we’ve 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.”
The memo said the airline recognizes alcohol can contribute to “atypical behavior” and “we owe it to our crew not to potentially exacerbate what can already be a new and stressful situation for our customers.”
Southwest reversed its policy and indefinitely suspended alcohol sales on all flights, citing a steady increase in passenger disruptions, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Last week, the airline announced that it would resume in-flight alcohol sales starting in June, the newspaper reported.
The ending date for American Airlines’ alcohol suspension coincides with the end of the Transportation Security Administration’s mask mandate for all planes, CNN reported.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it has received about 2,500 reports of unruly behavior by passengers, KXAS reported. That included 1,900 reports in which passengers refused to comply with the federal mask mandate, according to the television station.
According to KXAS, the FAA said it has proposed civil penalties ranging from $9,000 to $15,000 against five passengers because of their behavior, which included two assaults on flight attendants.