Southwest Airlines introduces Boeing 737 MAX with secondary flight deck barrier
September 2, 2025
Southwest Airlines has operated the first US commercial service using an aircraft fitted with a secondary cockpit barrier, a new layer of security aimed at preventing unauthorised access to the flight deck.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 delivered only days earlier, departed Phoenix for Denver on Friday, making Southwest the first American carrier to deploy the system under recently unveiled federal rules.
The additional barrier has been a long-standing demand from pilot groups, who argue that it provides essential protection when cockpit doors are opened in flight.
Southwest Airlines first to install secondary cockpit barrier
The measure stems from the September 11 terror attack, which exposed vulnerabilities in flight deck security.
Although reinforced doors became mandatory in the years that followed, calls for a secondary safeguard continued for more than two decades.
The need was focused on the point at which the flight crew leave the cockpit, or cabin crew enter the cockpit, during the flight, as is routine for toilet breaks or to pass food or other items.
Secondary barriers provide continuous protection for the flight deck, even when the cockpit door is open. They are lightweight, retractable gates that stay in place when the primary flight deck door is open.
Secondary cockpit barriers: Coming but delayed
In 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed new regulations requiring manufacturers to install secondary barriers on all newly built commercial passenger aircraft.
The requirement took effect earlier this week, though airlines have until mid-2026 to bring aircraft with the feature into service.
Most US carriers have indicated they will wait until closer to the deadline before making the change.
Under the rule, aircraft manufacturers are required to install the secondary barrier on all commercial aircraft produced after the regulation takes effect. Existing aircraft do not have to be retrofitted with the product.
The Biden-Harris Administration led with the measure in 2021, and the FAA formally proposed the rule in 2022 following input from aircraft manufacturers and workers representatives. The action fulfilled a mandate from the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act.
The FAA has made clear that the rule only applies to new deliveries, meaning existing fleets will not need to be retrofitted.
However, in July, the FAA announced it was postponing by one year the regulation requiring newly delivered US passenger aircraft to be equipped with a secondary flight deck barrier.
Southwest, however, has chosen not to delay.
The airline said it expects to receive around 25 additional Boeing aircraft this year, each arriving with the security feature installed.
“We felt like we could get it done and put it in production as soon as the aircraft was ready,” said Justin Jones, Southwest’s executive vice president for operations.
The added layer of protection against cockpit intrusions was originally set to take effect on 25 August 2025, but the rule will now not be enforced until 2026.
The decision to pause the rollout follows requests from Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, which argued that a two-year delay was necessary.
The group cited the FAA’s failure to certify any secondary barrier design or approve related manuals, procedures, or training programmes as reasons for the requested extension.
