Aer Lingus ‘no plans’ to halt sale of alcohol in morning

AER Lingus has become the latest airline to say it has “no plans” to halt on-board alcohol sales before a proposed 10am watershed.

But it has warned that if a passenger becomes disruptive during a flight, they may be denied future travel with the airline.

The issue of alcohol and passengers was at the centre of controversy this week, when Ryanair called for an alcohol ban to be put in place at airports pre-10am, after a group of holidaymakers had forced a flight from Dublin to Ibiza to divert to Paris on Saturday morning.

Aer Lingus, which serves a range of alcoholic drinks on board, said that, in common with other airlines, it had a “strict no-tolerance” policy towards disruptive passenger behaviour.

“Such incidents have the potential to compromise the safety of our operation and to expose passengers, crew, and ground staff to possible injury; conflict with our goal to be a safe and secure airline; reduce the level of customer service for other passengers; and place an unacceptable burden on staff,” it said.

The airline said it assessesd guests at the gate and refused carriage of intoxicated guests.

“Alcohol purchased in the airport that has been opened, or decanted, is confiscated and disposed.

“All of our crew have been advised on the controlled sale of alcohol inflight. Should a guest become disruptive inflight, they may be denied future travel on the airline,” it stated.

“Ireland and all states served by Aer Lingus are signatories to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Tokyo Convention.

This international agreement provides for the management of disruptive guest incidents. Additionally, regional regulatory bodies such as the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) have recently published appropriate regulations and most states have specific national legislation governing such incidents.”

Ryanair suggested this week that airports consider implementing a two-drink limit per passenger.

But the airline, which serves a range of alcoholic drinks on its morning flights, said it would not impose a ban itself because “very little alcohol is actually sold on board”.

However, Dublin Airport Authority described Ryanair’s proposed pre-10am booze ban as “highly draconian”.