In theory, ground staff have the right to stop a passenger from boarding a plane if the person is considered to have drunk too much and pose a potential threat other passengers and even the aircraft.
However, such action is seldom taken, plus once they are in the skies, passengers are able to continue drinking.
Last year, Ryanair banned passengers from consuming their bought duty-free alcohol on board flights. Drinking your own alcohol isn’t allowed on any airline, but the low-cost airline was forced to take additional measures after the many diversions and altercations on board.
Destinations affected were Spain’s most popular airports for holiday goers: Alicante, Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma and Tenerife South. But now broader action is being called.
One suggestion last week was to breathalyse suspect passengers at the boarding gate while another was simply to curtail bar opening times in airports.
As one travel expert pointed out: "Once a passenger is inside an airport they cannot smoke until their emerge from the airport of their destination. If people can manage a few hours without a smoke, why can’t they do the same when it comes to alcohol?”
7 comments
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Time to stop it altogether. If alcohol was discovered/invented now it would be made illegal for so many reasons just like other drugs because that is what it is.
Steve PickeringSpoons?
A better solution might be to try to attract the type of tourist that isn't drinking whiskey at 08:00 on the plane. Oh, they're already doing that. Not without some complaining though.
One pint, drink or unit on the ground is 2 units in the air. So if someone consumes 5 alcohol units on the ground, it would be 10 in an aircraft. No wonder there can be trouble with drinking alcohol when flying.
Too much money is made from the bars in airports, by the airport authorities themselves for a ban to be made. Look at the mark up in an airport spoons compared to spoons in the main street. Not only is booze expensive but the price of food is extortionate too.
Smoking on Aircraft was banned for many obvious reasons. It follows that Alcohol must equ ally be banned. Should an Aircraft have an In Flight Emergency. Or Emergency Crash Landing etc. Drunken Passengers would be a Major Evacuation Hazzard. The consequences could be Fatal.
Drunken flight??