For some people, getting a drink (or a few) at the airport before a flight is as much of the travel ritual as going through security screenings. But if one airline CEO has his way, you might not be able to drink to your heart's content before boarding your flight.
Michael O'Leary, the CEO of European budget airline Ryanair, has come out forcefully against allowing passengers to drink freely at the airport before their flight. The airline executive spoke to The Telegraph about his call for a two-drink limit for passengers at airport bars. He says the move comes after a spike in in-flight violence this summer both between passengers and on cabin crew.
"It’s not that easy for airlines to identify people who are inebriated at the gate, particularly if they are boarding with two or three others," O'Leary acknowledged. "As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through. Then when the plane takes off we see the misbehavior."
He acknowledged that the policy isn't to shame those who like a pre-flight beverage. "We don’t want to begrudge people having a drink. But we don’t allow people to drink [and] drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000 feet," he said.
While the CEO would like for the U.K. government to step in, he acknowledged that the airports themselves aren't too thrilled about the idea of having to cap how many drinks they can sell to customers.
"The airports of course are opposed to it and say that their bars don’t serve drunken passengers. But they do serve the relatives of the drunken passenger," he said.
It's gotten so bad after a summer of debauchery that the airline now has to screen passengers at the gate to crack down on any possible ways of sneaking in booze.
"We used to only allow them to take bottles of water on board, not realizing that they were full of vodka. Now we don’t even allow them to take those," he said.
The problem even extends beyond alcohol. "In the old days people who drank too much would eventually fall over or fall asleep. But now those passengers are also on tablets and powder," he said. "You get much more aggressive behavior that becomes very difficult to manage. And it’s not directed just at the crew. Passengers fighting with each other is now a growing trend on board the aircraft."
It remains to be seen if the new rule will come to fruition. In the meantime, be sure to drink before your flight responsibly.
