Alcohol and airplanes do not mix

I and my family have, on three occasions, had to endure several hours of anti-social behaviour on the part of revellers who have had too much to drink. On each flight it was obvious that the cabin crew were reluctant to admonish the culprits for fear of making a bad situation worse. The inevitable result was that over 100 passengers - children included, had to listen to the loud, foul rantings of 3 or 4 disruptives for almost the entire flight.

Thankfully, the safety of our flights did not appear to be in immediate danger but there was a real sense of fear about how things might deteriorate.

There is a major flaw in the logic which rightly bans alcohol on our buses and trains, yet allows it to affect the safety of aircraft where the potential for disaster is so much worse.

I sense in Lord Ahmad’s announcement that he may not have the political will to tackle the current problem as rigourously as he should. He has said that he doesn’t wish to kill merriment completely, hinting that a total ban on alcohol may not be an option. It will be a missed opportunity if the review does not move to fully protect the majority for the sake of the few who can’t do without their drink for the duration of a flight.

The review must not be limited to the availability of alcohol in airports since, in my experience, drink sold on board aircraft is also part of the problem. Passengers who ‘have had a few’ can become quite difficult when cabin crew suggest they may have had enough.

I recently read one airline’s rules about buying alcohol on board. They state that more drink will not be served to any passenger who is deemed to be drunk. It’s a bit late at that stage, I fear!

The only way to preserve the comfort and protect the safety of passengers is for government to recognise that alcohol and air travel are a lethal mix and to legislate accordingly.

C Cardwell, County Londonderry