Airport alcohol ban to clamp down on in-flight violence

A new ban on the consumption of alcohol before passengers board their plane has been proposed, in a bid to tackle in-flight violence.

Currently, the restrictions on alcohol in shops and pubs do not apply to airports under the Licensing Act, 2004. This means that holidaymakers at airports can buy alcohol at any time of day, including the hours before early-morning flights are due to take off.

A House of Lords committee is proposing the introduction of similar alcohol trading hours to airport restaurants and bars, after a sudden rise of in-flight violence was noted. Over the past two years, more than 440 passengers have been arrested on suspicion of being intoxicated either on an aeroplane or at an airport. The House of Lords committee report stated, “The incidents occurring on flights are notorious, sometimes requiring flights to be diverted, and more often than not such incidents are the consequence of alcohol consumed airside before the flight.”

The committee also reviewed evidence from the airline company Jet2.com, which stated that, during the summer of 2016, their staff had to deal with 536 disruptive, alcohol-related incidents. The Civil Aviation Authority also reported a 36% increase in such disruptive incidents, between 2014 and 2015, which is significant considering the relatively small size of the airline. The charity, Alcohol Concern, also told the committee that a survey showed one in five air passengers had begun drinking while still at an airport.