Southwest Airways says it’s finishing its cabin carrier previous on its flights beginning subsequent month. Starting on Dec. 4, an organization spokesperson mentioned, flight attendants will start getting ready the cabin for touchdown at an altitude of 18,000 ft (5,486 meters) as an alternative of 10,000 ft (3,048 meters). The alternate in process is designed to “scale back the chance of in-flight turbulence accidents” for group individuals and passengers, the corporate mentioned. For passengers, that suggests they’re going to wish to do the standard pre-landing procedures — similar to making sure their seatbelts are fixed and returning their seats to an upright place — previous than earlier than. Whilst turbulence-related fatalities are reasonably uncommon, accidents have piled up through the years. Multiple-third of all airline incidents in the USA from 2009 via 2018 have been associated with turbulence, and maximum of them led to a number of severe accidents however no injury to the aircraft, the Nationwide Transportation Protection Board reported.
In Would possibly, a 73-year outdated guy died on board a Singapore Airways flight when the aircraft hit serious turbulence over the Indian Ocean. The airline had additionally in the past introduced different adjustments. Beginning subsequent yr, Southwest will toss out a half-century custom of “open seating” — passengers choosing their very own seats after boarding the aircraft.
