Bowing to allergy concerns, Southwest Airlines is ending its long tradition of handing out free salted peanuts as inflight snacks this week.
The last packages of peanuts were distributed by flight attendants to passengers on July 31, 2018.
“Though the peanut has been an important part of our heritage, today is our final day serving them onboard,” Southwest said in a Twitter post.
CBS News reports that the decision to stop serving peanuts was announced at the beginning of July. Southwest has offered peanuts as a snack on every flight since the airline launched in 1971.
“Peanuts forever will be part of Southwest’s history and DNA. However, to ensure the best on-board experience for everyone, including customers with peanut-related allergies, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue serving peanuts on all flights beginning August 1,” the airline announced.
“We hope that our free pretzels (and our wonderful portfolio of free snacks on longer flights) served along with our legendary Southwest hospitality will please customers who might be nostalgic or sad to see peanuts go.
“Our ultimate goal is to create an environment where all customers—including those with peanut-related allergies—feel safe and welcome on every Southwest flight.”
