NEWS: Southwest Airlines Just Updated Its Safety Procedures

There have been so many Southwest Airlines changes recently, and now we’re adding another to the mix.

From adding assigned seating and eliminating free bags, many have added Southwest to their no-fly list. Could this new policy change their minds?

According to USA Today, Southwest is the first airline to fly with a secondary cockpit barrier in place. This is a safety feature that adds extra protection on the flight decks and has been supported by pilot unions.

This is an added barrier installed in the planes that are used when the cockpit door is opened during a flight.

USA Today says “the flight is a milestone that marks the beginning of the rollout of the safety feature across the new U.S. commercial airline fleet in the coming years.”

Adding secondary barriers is a new policy from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced in 2023, while airlines originally had until mid-2025 to comply. The policy deadline was recently extended till July 2026 to give airlines more time to add these to the newly delivered planes in use.

A majority of major carriers have informed the Federal Aviation Administration that they plan to utilize the entire extension and not immediately implement barriers. Southwest says otherwise.

Justin Jones, Southwest’s executive vice president for operations, said, “We felt we could get it done and put it in production as soon as the aircraft was ready.” The barrier will continue to be installed on the 25 Boeing aircraft they’re adding this year.

This new policy from the FAA states that the second physical barrier only needs to be added to new planes in commercial passenger service in the United States, and that current planes are exempt from this requirement.

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