Several major airlines are moving to end or temporarily suspend some alcoholic beverage services in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
CNN reported that several European airlines as well as Delta and American Airlines are moving to cut back on service of alcoholic beverages. Both Delta and American have ended beverage services on domestic flights, while some international flights may see services restricted as well.
“We’re limiting food and drink service on board based on flight length and destination. You’re welcome to bring snacks and soft drinks to enjoy during your flight,” reads a note on American Airlines’s website.
Delta pointed to the possibility of spreading coronavirus as a reason for altered food and beverage services in its own statement.
“We’re paring down to essential onboard food and beverage options in an effort to reduce physical touch points between customers and employees,” the company said. “As always, you are welcome to bring your own food and non-alcoholic beverages on board to enjoy during flight. Since many airport offerings are limited at this time, we recommend packing your own refreshments and encourage you to review TSA guidelines, before bringing food through security checkpoints.”
The change has also been adopted by several European air travel companies including Easyjet, British Airways as well as Asia’s Virgin Australia. Some have gone a step further and removed all non-alcoholic beverage options except for water.
Airlines continue to operate with a number of COVID-related restrictions, including social distancing guidelines and facial covering rules. Major airlines have also seen demand for flights both domestic and international plunge since the pandemic began.
Some hope for the industry appears to exist in the U.S. domestic flight market, which rebounded in June as the number of domestic U.S. travelers doubled from the month before.