Southwest Airlines Resumes Pre-Pandemic Boarding Procedure
Southwest Airlines has announced that it has resumed its traditional boarding procedures. For almost a year now the airline had a pandemic policy of boarding passengers in smaller groups to promote social distancing.
The nation’s largest domestic carrier, doesn’t assign seats, began boarding passengers in groups of 30 this month. It had been boarding passengers in groups of 10 since it unveiled the “Southwest Promise” health and safety protocols in May of 2020.
“The majority of our customers are familiar with Southwest’s standard boarding style and have an expectation for the normal boarding process as they return to travel,” Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King told USA Today in a statement.
Southwest will continue to have “physical distancing” reminders at the airport and requires passengers to wear masks at the airport and on its planes.
Travel has seen a big rebound in recent weeks. For 13 days straight now, more than one million people have passed through TSA checkpoints daily. If you are planning to get back to traveling, currently Southwest also has a sale on award fares, where you can get a 20% discount when you book with Rapid Rewards.
