Southwest Airlines Enhances Cockpit Safety with New Alerts

On Monday, Southwest Airlines announced it has implemented cockpit safety alerts across nearly its entire fleet of 800 aircraft.

This new warning system, developed by Honeywell, offers both auditory and visual notifications to pilots. These alerts activate when a pilot is about to select the wrong runway or is landing too quickly.

It’s somewhat reminiscent of the systems found in many modern vehicles that warn drivers when they get too close to another vehicle, a pedestrian, or the curb.

According to Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s Chief Operating Officer, “Honeywell’s Smartrunway and Smartlanding Software provide pilots with enhanced situational awareness, ensuring optimal safety on runways throughout our network.”

This technology is particularly relevant following an incident on March 20th at Orlando International Airport, where a plane was about to take off from a taxiway instead of the runway. Fortunately, an air traffic controller intervened just in time to prevent a potential disaster.

However, it raises the question—could Honeywell’s alert have been more responsive?

Back in 2017, Air Canada jets came close to landing on taxiways at San Francisco Airport, where four planes were lined up with around 1,000 passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board later found that an alert from Honeywell might have prevented this situation if it had provided earlier warnings.

The alerts can also signify to pilots if they are too high or too fast during landing, or if they are overshooting the runway due to a lengthy landing approach.

“Honeywell’s system is designed to minimize the risk of runway excursions and improve pilots’ situational awareness, particularly in low-visibility conditions,” stated Watterson.

He emphasized that, “We can’t depend solely on one system—there’s always the chance of failure. It’s crucial to provide pilots with various cues, including visual, auditory, and sometimes even tactile indicators.”

Last year, Southwest decided to incorporate Honeywell’s alerts into its Boeing 737 fleet.

In August, an advisory board suggested that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should require new aircraft to include these cockpit alerts, although this recommendation did not extend to older planes.

The FAA is currently evaluating this recommendation.

In a related move, Southwest began instructing flight attendants in December to clean the cabin during the initial phases of landing to reduce the chances of injuries among crew members.

Other airlines, like Alaska Airlines, have also adopted Honeywell alerts, even as manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing are developing their runway alert systems.

With these safety enhancements, Southwest aims to address safety concerns in light of recent incidents that have drawn considerable media attention.

Despite these issues, a recent AP-NORC poll found that around 64% of Americans still view air travel as quite safe.