Alcohol on flights ?

annsixty you're lovely just as you are

Gillt57 I agree. I don't see why a few drunken louts should spoil things for the majority of sensible travellers. On a 14 hour flight it's nice to have one glass of wine with dinner as many of us would have at home. No-one should be served drink after drink and I've never been on a flight (so far) where anyone has got drunk.

missdeke well done, that is what needs to happen - don't let drunks board in the first place.

Carolpaint I am surprised you would advocate the use of illegal drugs and over-use of tranquilizers instead of suggesting that airline and airport staff control the abuse of alcohol by travellers.

No alcohol should be served at airports. If served on a plane at least there will be a bit more control over how much people consume. Even a limit could be applied. Airports used to be alcohol free before the greedy moneymakers got involved and people seemed to manage to get on flights without being intoxicated. No different from smokefree zones being applied, people cope so why not same with alcohol.

annsixty
You really don’t ?

Me too. And I don’t see how you can avoid flights with stag or hen parties, etc, etc aboard. How can you know you’ve booked one until you get to the gate?

I do think a lot of the enjoyment from having a glass of wine is ritualistic - I certainly don’t think it’s it’s physical. I immensely enjoy a glass of wine including on flights. I certainly don’t think cabin staff push drinking - quite the opposite nowadays compared to the 1980’s. Once I was on a nearly empty long haul flight during the gulf war and I ordered a cognac. Stewardess said she and her fellow crew were hoping for a couple of hours shuteye and handed me the bottle in case I rang for another. Wouldn’t happen nowadays. ?

Agreed. I don't have to make excuses. I actually enjoy it.

Get a grip folks! I enjoy a glass of wine on a flight and fail to see why some people's inability to handle their alcohol intake should stop this. No, I do not NEED that glass of wine, but like the majority of passengers I enjoy it. I fly regularly and have perhaps been fortunate, but GG54 I do think your reactions are a bit over the top! Relax, just chill. Maybe have a glass of wine!!

No nor me gilly. It was just a figure of speech. We all have difficult days but no, I don't turn to drink!

There are days when I do KatyK (well maybe not days....I'm not quite that far gone yet)

There are days when I would love to dull my senses to be honest.

Gabriella
Oh how I wish I was as perfect as you.

* would

PennyWhistle
I've rarely heard such outright nonsense.
An hour is an hour.
Would drinking milk, water or fruit-juice make time pass more quickly too, or is it the soporficic effect of alcohol?
Why would anyone would want to dull their senses is beyond me but the crowd who bleat 'a quiet drink' or 'I just have one brandy/vodka/ (whatever) to settle me', are deluding themselves.
Coach trips? Anyone feel the need for alcohol on normal coach trips (apart from football trips) or journeys of several hours in a car?
Excuses.

Would be interesting to see how this would work in the business world. When I travel for work, I generally use the business lounge at the airport. These lounges offer a good range of drinks and food which make my travel experience much more relaxed. Also, I agree with other grans that a tipple on a long haul flight can really help to make the hours pass.

sarahellenwhitney Oh I definitely agree, I particularly remember a flight only woman who had to be escorted off the plane on arrival in Antalya, she'd been so disruptive through drink. She stood in the airport in a skirt that was so short you could see her knickers, constantly bending over to reach into her bag displaying herself to all and sundry!!! When she was due to return to the UK I took great pleasure in informing her that she was not allowed to fly on one of our planes and she would have to make other arrangements. She was at first abusive, then apologetic but I told her the pilot had refused her boarding and she would have to sort herself out. I gave her the phone number of the British Consulate should she need it and left her to her own devices.

I have only ever had a drink on a long haul flight to Tobago.
I prefer not to drink beforehand too. My husband likes a glass of something. I think it should be restricted to 2 drinks per person.
However as airlines get a lot of revenue from drinks on board I suspect it will never happen.
I'd certainly ban drinking in airports- I've seen some awful sights!

Why ban it? Why spoil it for those of us who like to have a little drink on a flight? I have been on many, many flights and can honestly say I have never seen a 'drunk' on a flight. A drink for some people is all part of getting into the holiday mood
I only mean one or two, not gallons of it

Can't anyone go for a maximum of 12 hours without alcohol?
It seems not.
AA meetings should be full.

Nandalot
You don't need a drink before boarding, you've just convinced yourself that you do.

As someone who doesn't drink any alcohol, I agree with thise who ask the question 'Who needs a drink at 9am to 'celebrate' the start of a holiday?'
I studiously avoid flights which have plebs on stag/hen dos, footie fans or sitting near kids or fatties.
This year I have even cancelled my NZ holiday due to recent events and I'm exploring more of GB, starting with a week in Leeds, exploring Haworth country, Knaresborough and surrounds.
The local tourist office have offered me drink and some cake if I drop in.
Life is good in GB.

Like many others I enjoy a glass or two on a plane as the start (or end) to a holiday. I wouldn't like to see it banned. I've seen people helping themselves from the service area on long haul flights - some have had an awful lot, but as long as they behave themselves there's no problem.

But on a short-haul flight from Poland the air crew were constantly serving spirits to a group of six men coming home from a stag do. They were pleasantly merry on boarding and having a laugh with the crew and the couple in front of them, but we could tell a tipping point had been reached with one of them and yet the crew still kept asking him if he wanted more. As we all walked towards Passport Control the man who'd been sitting in front of them made a jokey comment about the bad head he'd have the next day and he went berserk, arms flailing and obscenities flying, spitting, his friends holding him back. Children were crying and obviously upset. Funnily enough the plane out to Poland had been delayed too, as police boarded to deal with "an incident" and two passengers were escorted off.

Yes smoking is banned, but second hand smoke would take lots of exposures to kill. A drunk person can do an awful lot of damage in seconds, life changing damage plus the awful social damage that that particular addiction inflicts on family. As a previous poster wrote if you suffer so much from flight anxiety about four diazepam or such from your GP would enable you to enjoy calm there and back.

For some reason I am always surprised when on a plane leaving say 7am in the morning people start asking for alcohol! It’s beyond my understanding. Yes, I think perhaps alcohol should be banned on short haul flights, if you cannot go 2-3 hours without it, you better join AA the minute you get off the plane. I enjoy a glass of the red stuff but in appropriate settings and sitting crunched up on a plane with a home made sarnie isn’t it!

Fortunately, have never encountered such behaviour. I do need brandy before boarding though as I am a nervous flyer and am no longer allowed betablockers because of my asthma. I don’t become rowdy thoug, rather the reverse. I am not a drinker normally and would never touch a spirit in the regular course of events.

I am not in favour of banning alcohol, but I am in favour of limiting it.

I think having your boarding pass stamped when buying a drink at the airport - with a maximum of say 2/3 drinks then if someone wants to buy alcohol on the plane, they should have to show their boarding pass to show how many drinks they have already had.

Duty free alcohol bought in the airport should be handed to the aircrew and collected when the flight reaches it's destination.