Southwest Airlines is backtracking on one of its policies after requiring passengers who couldn’t fit within the armrests of their seat to pay extra.
Earlier this year, the airline said that plus-sized travelers had to “proactively” buy an additional seat for their flights, with the company deciding “in its sole discretion” to force the issue for the sake of customer safety and comfort concerns. The move sparked immense backlash at the time from travelers who called the policy a “fat tax.”
Now, Southwest is walking that rule back, no longer requiring plus-sized passengers to purchase an extra seat in advance.
“On flights where adjacent seats are available, our Agents at the airport are empowered to provide an additional seat at no extra cost to Customers who require one,” the airline said in a Friday statement to The Independent. “If another seat is not available, we will work to accommodate the Customer on a later flight.”
Customers do still run the risk of missing their original flight if there aren’t additional seats available during boarding. To that end, Southwest did encourage customers “who need an additional seat to book it in advance to help alleviate any last-minute inconvenience at the airport.”
The airline said that the policy change came after a great deal of review, and it will continue to be refined. “Southwest is working to create a more consistent and seamless experience for Customers who require an additional seat,” the company added.
Many travelers posted videos on TikTok in March about having issues with Southwest because of its seat policy. In her video, Erika DeBoer explained that when she arrived at the airport to check in for a flight, a Southwest gate worker told her that she’d have to purchase an additional seat for the “safety and comfort” of other passengers. She was confused by this request because she was only sitting between a window and her best friend, who she said had no issue being next to her.
“The part that lingers the most is the words used. ‘Safety and comfort’ of other passengers. They just kept repeating it like robots without any care for the actual situation,” she told People at the time.
After talking to a supervisor, DeBeor was forced to spend $176 on another seat or be barred from the flight. She told the outlet that after her flight, she contacted Southwest, which gave her a refund for the extra ticket and a $150 voucher.
Aside from the seat policy, Southwest has made other recent updates to its travel rules. Last month, the company started limiting passengers to one portable charger when boarding the plane. Passengers also cannot store the battery pack in the overhead storage bins, and they aren’t allowed to recharge the chargers using the airplane’s power outlets.
The policy builds on an existing rule that requires passengers to keep their portable chargers out in the open, so flight attendants can quickly respond in the event that a device begins to overheat.
