United Kingdom: Government to crackdown on alcohol sales at airports
itvNews
July 29, 2016
A spate of incidents involving drunken plane passengers have prompted a government review on pre-flight pints.
New aviation minister Lord Ahmad has announced plans to review the way alcohol is sold at airports following hundreds of booze-fuelled air rage incidents in the past two years.
Ahmed said he didn’t want to “kill merriment” but that the times passengers could buy alcohol, as well as tightening rules stopping unruly travellers boarding an aircraft, would come under scrutiny.
“If you’re a young family travelling on a plane you want to go from point A to B – you don’t want to be disrupted,” Lord Ahmad said.
“I don’t think we want to kill merriment altogether, but I think it’s important that passengers who board planes are also responsible and have a responsibility to other passengers, and that certainly should be the factor which we bear in mind.”
Lord Ahmad, who was appointed aviation minister by Theresa May when she became prime minister earlier this month, highlighted the importance of screening travellers before they board planes.
I want to certainly look at what more can be done in terms of making aviation a very attractive sector for all, so whether you’re a businessman making travelling arrangements or you’re a family planning a holiday, you can do so… knowing that once you board the plane, it’s going to be an environment in which you’re going to be safe and secure.
– LORD AHMAD, AVIATION MINISTER
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, travel editor of The Independent, Simon Calder said that the review would lead to “a lot more control” on how alcohol is sold at airports.
“It won’t happen with a straightforward booze ba said. “There’ll be various techniques they (the government) will be looking at such as hours and restricting the number of drinks you can have. You may have to have your boarding card scanned or marked so you only have a couple of drinks.”
He continued: “They might be considering breathalyzing passengers they consider being at risk of being drunk.
“It might be done on a flight-by-flight basis. Ibiza is a destination where they’re particularly concerned about air rage fuelled by drink.”
Hundreds of passengers have been arrested on suspicion of being drunk on a plane or at an airport within the last two years, according to recent police figures.
Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of the British Air Transport Association, and Ed Anderson, Chairman of the Airport Operators Association, said in a joint statement: “These incidents can be costly and cause delays.
“With air travel proving more popular than ever, and passenger numbers expected to rise across the whole of the UK in the coming years, now is the time to tackle this problem collectively.”
A code of practice on disruptive passengers was published earlier this week following collaboration between airlines, airports, the police and retailers.
The “zero tolerance” approach includes airport shops advising passengers not to drink alcohol they have purchased before or during their flight, and training staff in bars and restaurants to limit or stop the sale of alcohol to prevent or manage disruptive behaviour.
In February, six men on a stag party were arrested by German police after a mid-air brawl caused a Ryanair flight from Luton to Slovakia, to divert to Berlin.