Southwest Airlines Just Announced ANOTHER Big Airplane Change (but This Is a Good One)

By Robin Burks 1 Comment

Okay, we know, we’re all getting a little tired of hearing about how much Southwest Airlines is changing. The days of open seating and bags fly free are over (and yes, many of us are still salty about that).

Southwest at Orlando International Airport

But Southwest continues to make changes, tweaking things here and there, and more. The airline just made another big change to its planes…but this change is meant to keep Southwest’s passengers safer. According to USA Today, Southwest Airlines has just flown its first flight with a secondary cockpit barrier.

Here’s what that means. In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a new regulation that requires planes to have secondary barriers to the flight deck. The rule went into effect earlier this week and mandates that planes have a second physical barrier installed to be used when the cockpit door is opened during a flight.

Southwest Planes

Previously, pilot unions have argued that secondary barriers are crucial to aviation safety, especially after the events of September 11th, 2001. The updated Southwest Airlines plane marks the beginning of the rollout of this regulation across all U.S. commercial airlines over the next few years. Both Boeing and Airbus have started delivering planes with secondary barriers.

Southwest plane at Long Beach Airport

The FAA has agreed to extend the deadline for new planes to add the secondary barriers until late July 2026. Some airlines have opted to take advantage of the extension so they don’t have to immediately put the barriers in. However, Southwest has agreed to comply immediately as it brings new planes into its fleet.

Note that the new FAA rule only applies to new planes used in commercial passenger service in the U.S., but not existing planes.

Stay tuned to DFB for more.

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