Fit to fly? IAS report calls for review of alcohol and flights

A new report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) and the European Alcohol Policy Alliance says three out of five British adults who travel by air (60%) have encountered drunk passengers whilst on a flight, with broad public support for further controls on alcohol sales at UK airports and flights.

The report says although there are existing legal and voluntary measures in place to address the problem of drunk and disruptive passengers, these are not sufficiently curbing alcohol-related incidents which are reportedly on the rise.

In the UK, police made 387 arrests at airports on planes in 2016, up from 255 in the previous year though the figures are likely to be a significant under representation accrording to the briefing. A YouGov survey found that 86% of respondents support licensing laws applying to shops and bars selling alcohol in airports, which are currently exempt.

The report calls on government to take action by:

• Extending licensing laws so that bars and shops in airports are covered by the same laws as bars and shops in the high street.
• Signing up to an international treaty to empower police forces on the ground to prosecute disruptive passengers.
• Bringing in rules about duty-free alcohol so that anything bought in a shop is sent directly to the departure gate in a sealed container, or placed directly in the hold, to stop people drinking alcohol from a duty-free shop in the airport lounge.

Jennifer Keen, Head of Policy at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said:

‘The start of a holiday should be a happy and relaxing time for families. Instead people can be put in scary and, sometimes, frankly dangerous situations by a minority of people who drink too much and become disruptive on planes.

‘The government needs to do more to protect ordinary passengers from those who get drunk and aggressive. There is no clear reason why shops and bars in airports should be exempted from normal licensing rules when drunk people in the air are a much bigger safety risk to others than drunk people in the high street.’

A government-backed campaign to prevent inebriated passengers from boarding airplanes has recently been rolled out at ten airports including Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, East Midlands, Manchester, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Southampton, Bristol and Newcastle. The One Too Many initiative displays warnings about alcohol consumption on digital display screens and leaflets, though alcohol researchers may be quick to caution the lack of evidence to support awareness campaigns in changing behaviour.

The Government is developing a new national strategy for England which includes a commitment to review minimum pricing, but has given no indication yet as to whether the issue of airports and air travel is to be reviewed.