One in 10 drinks a week of booze on a single flight
BRITONS are drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol on planes, with some knocking back the equivalent of 15 gin and tonics on a single flight.
In a survey, one in 10 – two million holidaymakers – has become so drunk they needed medical help on landing.
Alcohol is a growing problem for airlines who have to deal with fights and arguments, illness and other disturbances, with some flights having to be diverted.
In the survey of nearly 1,500 British fliers for insurance firm Columbus Direct, 40 per cent said they drink during a flight.
One in 10 has knocked back 15 units or more on a single flight – the equivalent of 1d bottles of wine or 15 gin and tonics.
Fourteen units is the weekly alcohol limit recommended by doctors.
Nearly one in six of those who drank felt ill afterwards, five per cent needed help from cabin crew and 11 per cent required medical treatment once on the ground.
One in four travellers admitted they drink more on a plane than they normally do, with men more likely than women to drink too much.
Twenty per cent, equivalent to 7.6 million passengers, said they have had more than five units of alcohol on a flight in the past five years.
The biggest reason for getting drunk on a plane is nerves, followed by easy access to booze, while others simply see it as part of their holiday.
Alison Wild, Columbus Direct’s head of travel insurance, urged passengers to “drink in moderation” for the sake of their own wellbeing and that of other passengers.
The Civil Aviation Authority has identified disruptive passengers as one of the main reasons for aircraft diversion.
Those whose behaviour causes a flight to be diverted can be billed up to £80,000 by the airline.
And punishment in the courts can mean up to five years in prison.