One too many tipples at the airport could leave you with an £80,000 fine or a lifetime airline ban
For the majority of holidaymakers the flight abroad is safe, enjoyable and most importantly, uneventful. But for those who are unlucky enough to be faced with drunk and disorderly behaviour, we have good news. The One Too Many Campaign, led by the Government’s Aviation Industry, is cracking down on passengers who display alcohol-fuelled rowdiness. Those causing disruption could face a fine of up to £80,000 or even an airline ban.
Disruptive incidents before the flight and even whilst in the air can range from an annoyance, to a serious safety threat for everyone aboard the aircraft. Although reports show that alcohol is mainly to blame, it is not the only cause of misbehaviour.
According to the ‘One Too Many’ site, passengers will face the following penalties for disrupting a flight;
- Boarding will be denied for any passenger that’s deemed unfit to fly due to too much alcohol consumption.
- A fine of £5,000 will be given to anyone who delays the flight.
- A fine of £80,000 will be given to anyone who disrupts the flight whilst in the air, resulting in a diversion.
- Passengers could face two years in prison for disrupting the flight.
- And finally, passengers will receive a lifetime ban from the airline if they cause a flight to be cancelled.
If fines, imprisonment and bans aren’t enough, passengers that are not able to reach their holiday destination, due to their behaviour, will not be eligible to claim back any costs from their travel insurance company as they do not cover any claims if you are refused boarding or arrested.
As a warning to passengers travelling abroad this summer, airports across the UK will be displaying the new penalties on screens throughout the airport.
Over the past couple of months, instances of anti-social behaviour have been recorded and shared across social media by disgruntled passengers. The most recent being a passenger on a Ryanair flight, though to be part of a stag-do, who was filmed screaming at passengers and becoming verbally abusive towards the staff. The offender was detained by local police.
My Seatmate on This Flight Is (Very) Drunk. What Should I Do?
Our Unpacked advice columnist reflects on what happens when travel brings us in close quarters with someone we would prefer to avoid.
Unpacked is AFAR’s new advice column. Every month, our columnist Dr. Anu Taranath answers an ethical quandary that a reader recently faced. Taranath is a speaker, facilitator, and educator based in Seattle, Washington, who specializes in racial equity and social change. She’s the author of the book Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World (Between the Lines, 2019). If you have a question you’d like examined, please submit it to unpacked@afar.com.
Dear Unpacked,
I’d love for you to settle a debate I had with my friends last week. On a recent flight, the woman next to me had, by my count, eight little bottles of vodka. She then loudly made fun of nearby passengers, pretended to talk on the phone, tried to snuggle with me, and spilled half a bottle of water on my pants. She didn’t get belligerent, but it was obviously an unpleasant flight—I was so thankful to have an extra pair of pants in my carry-on. And though the flight attendants seemed to be sympathetic, the flight was completely full, so I couldn’t go anywhere.
I think the flight attendants should have cut her off after the first signs of her being tipsy. My friends say that I wasn’t in harm’s way, that drinking on an airplane is one of the few luxuries left in air travel, and that ultimately, I have a funny travel story. What do you think? —P.G.
Dear P.G.,
Being airborne for hours next to someone inconsiderate must have been uncomfortable—particularly the unwanted physical touch and the spilled water. For the past few years, air travel has been more fraught for both passengers and flight attendants alike due to bad behavior, delays, and cancellations. Passengers expect a hassle-free experience, and flight attendants aim to ensure passengers’ safety and comfort. In your case, neither of these expectations could be fulfilled because the hassle turned out be the person seated next to you.
Though flight crews have more authority than passengers when it comes to quelling bad behavior, they too are limited in what they can do. Let’s say they had cut off the passenger’s alcohol supply earlier. Though that might have encouraged her to sober up, flight attendants say it usually does not go well. “Almost everyone argues and insists they are fine,” wrote veteran flight attendant Kristie Koerbel in the New York Times. “If things escalate, we inform them that their disruptive behavior could be in violation of federal law and that we could arrange law enforcement to meet them when we land.”
In your case, the passenger might have expressed her displeasure in more acute ways than spilling water on your pants. Some of us get loud and animated with alcohol; others slip into deep slumber. It’s possible the flight crew was choosing among the best of a set of imperfect choices in continuing to quietly serve her.
Beyond plane journeys, your question makes me think of the expectation of seamless comfort. Much of our everyday lives can now be enhanced for maximum predictability. Whether we are ordering dinner or making a major purchase, we can interact with only those we want to in the process. We can remove inconveniences with a simple search and swipe. While I too appreciate predictability, I wonder what this increasingly curated reality means for our ability to navigate travel, when life may be messier.
When we travel, we enter situations that are new to us—and usually cannot be managed with the tap of a screen. The excitement can be wonderful and lead to amazing new connections! But sometimes the opposite happens. How might we traverse moments of inconvenience and exasperation?
The world is inhabited by people who are flawed and wondrous, wounded and delightful. Perhaps the tipsy passenger was navigating her own messiness that day, and what showed up in her behavior was all she could muster. Perhaps the flight was understaffed and the crew was dealing with even worse behavior elsewhere on the plane. Considering these factors doesn’t mean that you must like what showed up next to you. You are entitled to feel irritated at the passenger’s behavior, and with the flight attendants for not intervening more effectively. How great would it have been to swipe left and order a new seatmate?
I gently invite you to think of this incident, as your friends suggest, as “a funny travel story.” This reframe may give it less charge and cause less suffering to you now. You already had to endure the passenger’s behavior and change into dry pants on that flight. Why prolong the distress? There are far too many incidents that could never cross over into “funny story about an irritating flight” category. Be grateful that your neighbor’s behavior did not escalate in too terrible a way, and find ways to laugh at the ridiculous situation. They say travel is about embracing the unexpected; in your case, the unexpected tried to embrace you!
This Is Why You Feel More Drunk on a Plane
Drinking in the air is its own animal.
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There are many reasons why drinking on a plane seems 10 times more fun than it does at sea level. There’s the fact that you’re on the move—going on holiday, traveling, exploring, reconnecting with family—that naturally makes you feel excited. When you’re traveling with friends you can get swept up in the celebratory mood, wanting to start the party as soon as possible and make the most of every second of your holiday. There’s also, more simply, the fact that it’s a change of scene—you’re not sitting at home in front of the TV, you’re not in your local pub, you’re cruising at 38,000 feet sipping your favorite drink among the clouds. But beyond the desire to pour a drink after takeoff, is there any truth in the fact that drinking on a plane gets you more drunk? Or does it just make you feel more drunk than you would with your feet on terra firma? Below, we chat to Jo Woodhurst, nutritionist and head of nutrition at Ancient and Brave, to get to the bottom of whether drinking on a plane makes you feel more drunk.
