Southwest Airlines' latest change means some can’t fly anymore

Southwest Airlines was once known for its amazing customer service.

In fact, JD Power’s 2025 North American Airline Satisfaction Study revealed that Southwest “ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the economy/basic economy segment for a fourth consecutive year.”

Southwest Airlines may soon lose that title, though. That’s because the airline has done a number of things that have upset customers recently, including:

• Eliminating its Bags Fly Free policy and charging for bags
• Getting rid of open seating in favor of assigned seating
• Changing its policies for plus-size passengers
• Instituting new rules for wheelchair travel that make it harder for some disabled people to fly

Things have gotten so bad that a Reddit poster started a thread asking, “Despite all the recent [negative] changes, is anyone else still sticking with SWA.” There were very few positive responses defending the airline.

Unfortunately, Southwest Airlines’ latest policy change is causing even more frustration, and it could mean that some people are entirely unable to fly the airline going forward.

Southwest Airlines change makes flying impossible for some passengers

Southwest Airlines recently unveiled yet another new change impacting passengers. On its Instagram page, the airline said: 

“Something Wonderful is coming in January! Are you Team Honey Roasted or Team Roasted & Salted? These new snack offerings will be available beginning January 27, 2026 to Customers enjoying an Extra Legroom seat.”

Related: Southwest Airlines cancels daily flights to major city in March

The “wonderful” new snack that Southwest Airlines touted was pistachios, and the Southwest Airlines Instagram page included a picture showing that passengers would have a choice of flavors, including:

• Honey-roasted pistachios
• Roasted & salted pistachios

Southwest Airlines’ snack decision has upset many customers

While Southwest Airlines officials may have been excited to announce the change to its onboard menu, many flyers were extremely upset with the airline. 

In fact, the first response on the Instagram post announcing the Southwest Airlines change raised a key issue that has many people up in arms. The Instagram comment said: 

This Instagram user was not the only one who was upset, either. In the Southwest subreddit, a poster made an excellent point about the decision, stating:

“Starting to wonder if Elliott has given up completely. No one will choose to fly Southwest because it offers pistachios, but plenty of people will now avoid it. Is their strategy now just to discourage passengers flying and auction off the planes?”

Southwest Airlines’ policy of serving nuts on board will make travel off-limits to some

Southwest Airlines' decision to offer pistachios is a puzzling one, because pistachios are a tree nut, and millions of people are allergic to them. In fact, according to Food Allergy.org:

• 3.9 million people in the United States are allergic to tree nuts
• Tree nuts are one of the eight major food allergens in the U.S. identified as being responsible for at least 90% of all serious food allergy reactions (milk, egg, peanut, wheat, soy, fish, and crustacean shellfish were the other seven)

Food allergies can have devastating consequences, with Food Allergy.org also reporting that approximately 3.4 million people visit the emergency room due to an allergic reaction each year in the United States.

More Airlines:

• Airline cuts last flight into this US city, refunds available
• TSA issues stern warning on item over 13 million Americans use
• Spirit Airlines cuts more flights and jobs amid second bankruptcy

That means once every 10 seconds, an ER visit becomes necessary due to an allergic reaction.

No one who has an allergy will want to take a chance of a reaction in the air.

Instead, millions of people with allergies – and their families – will now decide that Southwest Airlines is off limits for them because the airline has made the decision to serve a food that could kill them. 

Related: Frontier Airlines permanently cancels all flights to major airport