Airlines pull back on alcoholic beverages on flights amid bad passenger behavior
CBSN
Travelers won't be able to take the edge off with a drink on many flights, as United Airlines becomes the latest carrier to limit its alcohol policy due to unruly passengers. Southwest and American announced last week they would extend previous suspensions on alcohol service.
United announced it will offer beer, wine and hard seltzer only on domestic flights longer than 800 miles or from hub to hub after previously stating they'd resume service for flights longer than 200 miles. American, meanwhile, will not serve alcohol in the main cabin for the time being. Many airlines had suspended alcoholic beverage service last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The moves were made in part as a way to reduce the opportunities for passengers to remove their face masks and keep flight attendants from having to interact with passengers more than necessary. The recent suspensions, however, are related to passenger behavior.Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.