Inflight disturbances frequently involve alcohol. Here’s a Love & Hip Hop star being booted from a Delta flight for coming onboard glass of wine in hand last year.
I once sat next to a passenger on an American Airlines Dallas – Austin flight where she refused to give up the wine she took from the Admirals Club in a ‘to go’ coffee cup and got into an altercation with a flight attendant over it.
Last year Ryanair called for airports to stop selling alcohol. The thing is though that Ryanair itself never offered to stop selling alcohol, in fact their flight attendants even have quotas for onboard sales. They don’t mind passengers drinking, they just mind competition for the sales.
With 193 inflight disturbances on UK-registered aircraft during the first 6 months of 2018 (incidentally, down from 219 during the same period last year, and only half the incidents involve alcohol) the trade association for UK airlines is making a similar call for regulation of airport alcohol sales,
As airline data shows around half of cases involve alcohol, airlines believe that the current exemption for airports from the Licensing Act should be removed so whilst passengers can still enjoy a drink to start their holiday, airport outlets would be subject to the same licensing requirements as bars, pubs and other outlets selling alcohol in towns and cities across the country, as well as landside at airports.
Presumably restrictions on when alcohol can be served in airports would limit airline lounge costs, too.
Once again though there is no call from the airlines for regulation of onboard alcohol sales. Just an oversight?
This is basically a UK cultural problem. Don’t enforce it on other people transiting.
Why do British people talk, brag and obsess so much about how much they drink ?
Gary, the flight attendants are primarily there for your safety. Therefore they are far more qualified to serve liquor than someone who attends to you before your flight.
Make no mistake, the coincidence, London Mayor and banning drinking at an airport, it’s patently obvious, this is the thin end of the wedge as they eventually take over completely, stand by, this is Shariah light.
Please don’t condemn all British for the sake of a minority of idiots. The US has its fair share of those but perhaps it’s a cultural thing that I’m too polite to make absurd overgeneralisations about 350 million Americans.
Also this is predominantly confined to inter-europe short haul packaged holiday flights. Often passengers on such flights are treated badly, held in lines or waiting areas for hour upon hour, suffer delayed and cancelled flights, ridiculous cramped almost inhuman conditions(which livestock would be protected from enduring), abrupt and often downright rude service from officious staff (airline and ground staff), no drinks, no food, having paid extortionate “school holiday” prices the whole of which they should be thankful for, even the seat!
BUT.
Just like much else, saying 999,999 passengers are just fine doesn’t make for gutter press headlines.
Yours.
An equally annoyed traveller, who wants to enjoy my trip and a drink or two, please.