On August 29, Southwest Airlines became one of the first airlines in the United States to launch a new onboard security feature.
The carrier’s newest Boeing 737 jet is equipped with a secondary barrier in front of the cockpit that is deployed when the cockpit door is opened. The barrier is similar to a shutter that slides and locks into place when pilots need to open the door to the cockpit for various reasons, such as to use the lavatory or to have a meal break.
All U.S. airlines will soon fly with secondary barriers to the cockpit as part of a new FAA rule to enhance in-flight security. The rule, which states that all newly built planes must include the additional barriers, was originally scheduled to go into effect in August 2025.
However, the FAA delayed the launch date by one year so the agency and airlines could have more time to certify and install the barriers across US airlines.
Southwest, however, decided to go ahead and start implementing the barriers as its newest jets roll out from the assembly line. “For Southwest, this was the right decision,” the airline said. “We have a robust Safety Management System that takes a proactive approach when it comes to enhancing Safety wherever possible.”
The airline says that moving forward, all of its new aircraft will have the added safety feature on board. Southwest currently doesn’t have plans to retrofit its existing aircraft with the barriers, and that is not a requirement under the FAA rule.
Currently, many airlines train flight attendants to use the beverage cart as a makeshift barrier to block the cockpit area when the door to the flight deck is open. Southwest says that its current flight deck security procedures will remain in place across its fleet of existing planes without the new barriers in place.
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