Why Are Soda Cans Exploding on Southwest Flights?

Hot temperatures in the United States have led to a unique phenomenon on Southwest Airlines flights—exploding soda cans.

Knewz.com has learned that around 20 flight attendants on Southwest Airlines have been injured so far as a result of this issue.

The summer of 2024 saw heat waves and unprecedented temperature hikes all over the world, including the U.S.

Texas, Las Vegas , and Phoenix – all of whose airports see a lot of Southwest Airlines flights pass – reached triple-digit temperatures this summer .

Incidents of exploding soda cans have mainly been noted in the cities of Las Vegas and Phoenix, in addition to a few other cities where the airline makes regular halts.

Since Southwest Airlines does not serve perishable foods or meals, their flights do not use refrigeration trucks. As a result, the soda to be served on their flights sits in the heat of especially warm days of the summer before they are brought on board.

While the airline has always encountered the issue of exploding soda cans, Southwest has reported a surge in incidents in 2024.

"Airports where we have a large presence — such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and many in Texas — continue to receive record temperatures, with severe heat arriving earlier and persisting throughout the summer," Southwest Airlines spokesperson Chris Perry was quoted as saying.

"For the safety of our employees and customers, we are taking education and mitigation measures on all heat-related hazards," Perry added in his statement.

"We are aware of the [exploding soda cans] and have begun taking steps to attempt to mitigate it," he said.

It is worth noting that the cities of Del Rio and McAllen in Texas saw temperatures reach 112 degrees and 103 degrees respectively in the summer of 2024.

The National Weather Service of Las Vegas wrote in a July 13 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the city experienced record-breaking temperatures for seven days in a row.

"With a high temperature of 115°F this afternoon we not only extended our streak to 7 days, but we also broke the daily record high. This makes today the 7th day IN A ROW that we have broken or tied daily high temps!" the post on X read.

It was reported that Las Vegas recorded an all-time high temperature of 120 degrees on July 7. Furthermore, the city also saw three consecutive days with temperatures crossing 118 degrees.

At the time, the National Weather Service said that the long-duration heat wave was "extremely dangerous and deadly if not taken seriously."

Notably, over 20 Southwest Airlines flight attendants have sustained unspecified injuries due to the soda can conundrum, while no passenger injuries have been reported as of now.

As part of the "steps" mentioned by Perry, Southwest Airlines is currently working to find a fix for the soda storage issue in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and Sacramento, it has been reported.

Furthermore, the airline has also directed ground crews to digitally measure the temperatures of the soda cans before bringing them onboard a departing flight.

Additionally, flight attendants have been advised to not open soda cans that appear deformed. In Las Vegas, Southwest Airlines is considering using air-conditioned trucks to curb the issue, The Washington Post reported.