Buzz’s Pandemic Trip II: No Booze on Southwest

This is the second entry in my travelogue of my recent trip. I went to Las Vegas for 4 days. It was my first time in an airplane in over 2 years and my first real (not-visiting-parents) vacation in 2 years as well.

Today’s item: “You Can’t Get Drunk on Southwest” is going to come as a surprise to some, a mild inconvenience to others and a deal-breaker for truly ardent boozehounds.

Yep, part of the new normal is that you’re not allowed to buy alcohol on Southwest Airline flights anymore. That goes for liquor as well as beer and wine. Not only will they not sell it to you, you’re not allowed to drink any if you bring it on board with you. I’m told it’s not just Southwest, either. Many airlines have discontinued alcoholic beverage sales.

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At first, I thought it probably had to do with discouraging passengers from removing their masks to drink and maybe that IS part of the policy. But they still gave 1 free drink (soda, water or coffee) and pretzels. It turns out, the REAL reason is because so many passengers have gone Covid-crazy and mask-mad, like this guy:

Passenger behavior has been so egregious and often violent that many airlines have just decided to take alcohol out of the mix. Now if they can only do something similar for the pilots.

So, you may want to check and see what your airline’s alcohol policy is when you book your trip. And, although you might not be able to get drunk ON a Southwest flight, you can certainly get drunk BEFORE your flight. Yeah, all the airport-based restaurants are bars are still serving booze.

Coming up: I’ve finally figured out the biggest Las Vegas secret of all.