There’s no denying that the events of September 11, 2001, changed airline travel when it comes to beefing up security measures. Southwest Airlines announced that they have begun rolling out a new safety feature on Friday, with its first jet having a secondary barrier to the flight deck.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight was the first to feature the new changes on a route from Phoenix to Denver. It’s just the beginning of initiating the gradual adoption of the safety feature across new U.S. commercial aircraft.
The added safety barrier would limit the possibility of forceful intrusion and deter any unauthorized entry into the cockpit, putting the flight pilots in a more secure position against potential threats.
Starting Monday, Boeing and Airbus began sending out modified airplanes with the new upgrade under the Federal Aviation Administration regulations that were announced in 2023. But a majority of airlines have delayed using the aircraft with the barriers, while the FAA gave a deadline of July 2026.
Southwest Airlines is the first to put the new safety feature into action, with plans to add 25 more flights by the end of the year.
“We felt like we could get it done and put it in production as soon as the aircraft was ready,” said Justin Jones, Southwest’s executive vice president for operations.
Under the FAA rule, only new aircraft will currently have the secondary barrier on commercial passenger flights traveling in the United States. For now, existing planes are not required to be modified with the barrier. Airplane manufacturers that haven’t received FAA certification for barriers are not currently subject to compliance.
After the events of 9/11, the FAA put into place security measures of reinforced cockpit doors and procedures to limit cockpit access during flights. As well as TSA overhauling security with mandatory baggage checks, stricter passenger screenings, and in-flight security measures like an on-board Federal Air Marshal.
