Southwest Airlines announces it will end cabin service earlier on its flights starting next month.

Starting Dec. 4, a company spokesman said, flight attendants will begin preparing the cabin for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet instead of 10,000 feet. The change in procedures is intended to “reduce the risk of injuries from in-flight turbulence” for crew members and passengers, the company said.

For passengers, this means they will have to carry out standard pre-landing procedures earlier than before – such as making sure their seat belts are fastened and placing their seats in an upright position.

While turbulence-related deaths are quite rare, injuries are increasing over the years. More than a third of all airline incidents in the United States between 2009 and 2018 were turbulence-related, and most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries but no damage to the aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.

In May, a 73-year-old man died on board a Singapore Airlines Flight if the plane get into severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.

The airline had previously announced further changes.

Starting next year, Southwest will throw a half-century of tradition overboard “Open Seating” – passengers choose their own seats after boarding the plane.