To think the only way to crack down on people getting drunk on flights is to have massive (jail-time) penalties for those that do this?

[Gromance02]

I don't think it is fair to ban alcohol completely on flights as it penalises the majority that can drink sensibly. Also, if someone wants to get drunk, they could easily buy a bottle of vodka or whatever in duty free and stick it in their hand luggage. So the only solution is to make the consequences of getting drunk on a flight to be custodial. Followed by a 10 year ban or so of being banned from all flights.

Do you mean drunk as in behaviour or as in a unit limit?

There was a flight I was on where they announced they had run out of alcohol 45 min after take off (a stag and a hen party were on board) but the drinkers were very well behaved. They were hungover by the end of the flight though and looking a bit sick.

I agree. I think drunken behaviour, particularly in confined spaces where other people are exposed to it and at risk, should be clamped down on. 10 year ban from flying sounds about right.

Do what you like to your own liver and brain cells but don't put that on other people and make them suffer your behaviour.

I mean in terms of behaviour. Although it is apparently illegal to be drunk on board a flight anyway. I suppose a unit limit wouldn't be much good as one person could have 1 pint and be drunk whereas someone else may be able to drink 5 pints and be fine. Just depends on their build and tolerance to booze.

No, I think going to prison because you are drunk on a flight is insanity. If you DO something because you are drunk, you should be punished fairly for your actions, but to incarcerate someone for having a glass of wine too many and just sitting there? Insanity.

Just ban it I'm sure people can manage till they get off the plane

Just ban it I'm sure people can manage till they get off the plane

I agree, if people can't manage with alcohol for the duration of a flight, then they have a problem.

They should just ban alcohol from being sold for immediate consumption at the airport and plane. But they won't because it brings in money.

Why not charge more for flights where you are allowed alcohol ? Let the customer and the market decide ?

I've got drunk on a flight before. Not unable-to-walk-drunk but where anyone talking to me would have known I'd been drinking quite a bit.

As with if it had happened on the ground, I didn't vomit on anyone or start abusing the staff. I asked for plenty of water, fell asleep and regretted it when we landed and I felt green.

I'm not sure a flying ban is appropriate as for some, including me, that would mean the loss of a job, family income etc. This is a consideration when drink driving cases are heard and I think that that is much, much worse.

I don't think the laws need be any different to those currently in existence.

Custodial sentences have a massive impact on people. They effectively ruin lives. Let's suppose that you're pushing for 6 months custodial sentence. That's the same as renting offensive weapons, running a brothel or railing to stop / failing to report an RTA (off the top of my head). Do you see them as the same?

You haven't really thought this through, have you OP?

failing to stop

I can 'manage' well enough without alcohol on a flight but why shouldn't I have a g&t or a wine when I'm going on holiday? Part of the fun. Book out/music on with an alcoholic drink.

I'm not going to get drunk though. I might get slightly tipsy but I'm only going to be sitting there quietly even if I do so what's it to do with anyone else, really?

So it's behaviour that needs moderating, not the drink. Ten year sentence is nuts though. Nuts. A fine or possibly a one year flight exclusion, maybe.

I don't see a problem with getting drunk on a plane. If you are off on your holidays then there's nothing wrong with a few drinks. It's a cheerful atmosphere!

However I agree penalties should be higher for people acting like knobs. Not only is it awful being stuck on a plane with them, it prevents cabin staff from doing their job. I think a lot of people don't realise that they shouldn't act that way. They treat cabin staff like bartenders and have a shitty attitude towards them. Some harsher sentences in the news might make them think twice.

I could easily go without for the duration of a flight, and have at times done so, but like many people, depending on the time of the flight, I quite fancy an occasional G & T on my way to holiday. Should the rest of us be penalised because someone else is incapable of behaving?

Airlines should stop obvious drunks from boarding as some people get tanked up before they're on the plane (I know someone this happened to, she lost her holiday because of it)).

I think a stiff fine for bad behaviour would be a good start.

I think there are lots of easy and simple things that can be done to limit the problem.

Any booze bought in duty free could easily be put into the hold and returned to passengers on arrival - in the USA you can buy duty free in the shops but it's not handed to you until you get almost onto the plane, so it would be easy to tweak the system and have people collect purchases in the arrivals hall.

Airports in the UK should be on the same licensing laws as pubs - in most areas you couldn't walk into a pub and have a pint (or six) at 5 in the morning, so why can you do it in the airport?

Airlines know what routes cause problems with drunkenness and are already banning booze on those routes. Routes to places like Ibiza and Alicante where you have a higher proportion of young travellers, large groups and hen/stag parties. I would also totally support the right of airlines to ban people who have previously abused staff or caused a disruption.

Most of us however do like a wee drink with our meal onboard and banning it totally is disproportionate.

The best flight I've ever taken was the one where the flight was delayed by six hours and so I ended up just sat in the airport Wetherspoons with my book for four hours. I got on the flight pleasantly tipsy, fell straight to sleep (I can never normally sleep on a flight, even one to Australia) and when I woke up we were over the Seychelles. Since then, I am firmly in favour of being a tiny bit drunk for a flight...

Like everyone else, I'm all in favour of punishment for those who are drunk and disorderly on a flight, but I don't see why just being drunk on a flight should be any more punishable than, say, being drunk on a bus. You're sitting in an uncomfortable seat for a few hours, not flying the thing.

What harm is someone doing who has a few drinks then falls asleep for the rest of the flight? Why should this be banned and punished?

I disagree. Banning it isn't needed. Anyone should be able to have a drink on a flight if they want one.

There should be security. No one should be allowed on the plane if they are too drunk. If they get too drunk once on the plane, and are rude or aggressive, they should be restrained and arrested asap. Then penalised. Fined?

You could be arrested if drunk and disorderly by police say in a town pub. So why not on a flight? Or Straight after landing?

It's a tricky one. The number of violent incidents have gone up mostly because of drinking (but remember the woman who slapped an air hostess because there were no peanuts?) And if you ban airport drinking people will preload or smuggle on. And if you do a sort of breathalyser before boarding that would just add to queues - and needs extra staff and/or police to deal with ranting stags and hens. Perhaps anyone who flies regularly/works for airlines could advise?

I agree, if people can't manage with alcohol for the duration of a flight, then they have a problem

I truly loathe the sanctimommies that come out with that tired old line. "If you can't manage without for a flight/an entire pregnancy/a night out/a wedding etc etc then you have a problem" bullshit.
We can manage perfectly well, we just choose not to. Alcohol makes having to be around the likes of you just that much easier as well, which is a bonus.

I did get drunk on a flight back from Moscow

I had lots of wine, got proper nostalgic for some of the 2007 emo music on my iPod, and sat with my headphones in for four hours. Didn't make a peep, but I was certainly drunk.

Not exactly a punishable offence.

Or they could just be reasonable about how much they serve?

My agreement with the OP is in relation to the drunken behaviour where it impacts on others. Flight crews and passengers shouldn't have to put up with knobbish behaviour from other passengers. Actually, drunk or not - any behaviour like that should attract a ban on flying.

I have no issue with people drinking on flights or at the airport as long as the knobs are left behind and not allowed on the flight.

I agree with severely punishing those who are anti-social, aggressive or otherwise cause problems for their fellow passengers and/or airline staff.

But someone who is drunk but remains in their seat and doesn't cause any trouble shouldn't be treated the same as someone who is so aggressive the flight gets diverted to get them chucked off. And I say that as someone who very rarely drinks and has never been drunk on a plane in my life.