Ban travellers having more than 2 drinks before f lying
Airlines’ bid to tackle drunks
UK AIRPORTS should have a two- drink limit as soaring numbers of drunk passengers are causing misery to fellow holidaymakers, airline bosses have demanded.
The call comes after figures revealed a surge in alcoholrelated arrests at airports or during flights, while cabin crew complained of being groped and harassed by drunk passengers.
The number of passengers arrested for drunken behaviour increased by 50 per cent in the past year. The worst routes are thought to be between party destinations such as Alicante, Ibiza and Palma.
Ryanair has already banned customers from drinking duty-free alcohol on flights, while passengers from Glasgow Prestwick and Manchester to some destinations cannot take alcohol on board at all.
But it has now called for a crackdown on drinking in airport bars and lounges, and an all-out ban on alcohol being served before 10am.
Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, said: ‘This is an issue which the airports must now address and we are calling for significant changes to prohibit the sale of alcohol, particularly with early morning flights and when flights are delayed.’
An investigation by BBC’s Panorama found that air stewards were being abused as drunken passengers disrupted flights on an unprecedented scale. Ally Murphy, a former Virgin cabin crew manager, said: ‘People just see us as barmaids in the sky. I was pulled into an upper-class bed by a passenger. They would touch your breasts, or they’d touch your bum or your legs. I’ve had hands going up my skirt before.
‘ It’s rage inducing, and you shouldn’t have to deal with that. I never reported it to the police because, sadly, you kind of just accept it as part of the job. And it shouldn’t be.’
Figures show 18 out of 20 police forces with a major UK airport on their patch revealed a surge in arrests for drunken behaviour on flights or at airports. There was a total of 387 in the year to February 2017, up from 255 in the 12 months before.
Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, rejected suggestions they are selling alcohol irresponsibly. She said: ‘The sale of alcohol per se is not a problem. It’s the misuse of it and drinking to excess and then behaving badly.’
The UK aviation industry brought in a voluntary code of conduct last year which recommends that airports and airlines should work together to limit disruptive behaviour and sell alcohol responsibly.