Getting a Drink On a Flight is Still Hard to Do

Safety protocols reducing contact between passengers, flight crew remain in place

By Elise Gomez

Published February 22, 2021

Read Time: 3 mins

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As airlines slowly recover from the devastating effects of the global pandemic, one part of the air travel experience may be among the last to return to some semblance of normal.

Booze.

“There are so many restrictions, so I wanted to reach out to the airport to check on the availability to grab a drink,” Nicole Milewsky of Steubenville, Ohio, recently told Blue Sky News.

Last March, Milewsky canceled plans to travel through Pittsburgh International Airport on her way to West Palm Beach, Fla. Now, with restrictions slowly lifting and some destinations offering access to COVID testing at resorts and airports, she’s planning a new trip to be married in Cancun, Mexico, this May.

“I do get a little nervous about flying, so I look forward to relaxing and having a drink at the airport or on the airplane to officially kick off my vacation,” she said.

Most airlines are still restricting food and alcohol on their flights as part of health and safety measures imposed early in the pandemic to reduce physical touchpoints between flight attendants and passengers.

Some airlines, including  JetBlue, American, Delta, United and Southwest, have eliminated certain offerings or moved to more limited offerings, such as i