- Southwest Airlines is set to end cabin service earlier in a bid to reduce the risk of turbulence-related injuries.
- The change will see cabin landing preparations begin at 18,000 feet rather than 10,000 feet.
- It comes amid increasing reports of turbulence-related injuries.
Southwest Airlines is set to end cabin service earlier from December 4 in a move designed to help prevent injuries to its flight attendants and passengers.
Flight attendants will begin landing preparations at 18,000 feet rather than 10,000 feet going forward, a Southwest spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.
In an internal memo seen by View From the Wing, the company said that an evaluation of data from reports by pilots and flight attendants and information from the Flight Data Analysis Program suggested that seating staff sooner should reduce injuries by at least 20%.
“If we do not achieve the desired result, we will continue to find solutions,” the memo said. “We are also committed to sharing updates on these findings periodically.”
For passengers, the change means the usual pre-landing checklist — carry-on luggage stowed, window shades up, and seats and tables upright — will need to be completed sooner.
The memo says pilots will announce the beginning of the descent phase to the cabin before making a chime at 18,000 feet to signal the start of the sterile flight deck — a period when flight crew members should not be disturbed except for emergencies.
“This chime serves as your cue to secure the cabin for landing and to be seated and secured in your jumpseats,” it says.
The World Economic Forum has said that from 2009 to 2023, 37 passengers and 146 crew members were seriously injured as a result of turbulence.
In May, a 73-year-old passenger died on board a Singapore Airlines flight when the plane dropped 178 feet in around four seconds.
Although serious turbulence-related injuries are rare, turbulence appears to be getting more common and increasingly severe.