Will Booze Ever Be Banned on U.S. Airline Flights?
Photo Credit: Alcohol-related incidents on airplanes have made news lately but don't expect airlines to ban liquor, beer and wine. The money is too good. ichibod on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-SA / Ichibod
Skift Take
Despite some well-publicized incidents involving drunk passengers, U.S. airlines aren’t about to fly dry. The revenue is just too big. But flight attendants say drunk passengers are the top source of harassment and want airline staff to keep them off planes.
A drunken passenger last December assaulted a flight attendant on a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Tampa, forcing the plane to divert to Birmingham, Alabama.
In February, a New York-bound JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic had to make an emergency landing at Washington Dulles when a drunk passenger caressed another flier, then threw snacks at and kicked a flight attendant.
In April, a man raged at a flight attendant on an American Airlines flight from St. Croix to Miami, after he was refused alcoholic beverages.
The American incident, widely shared on YouTube, resulted in the passenger’s arrest on charges of interfering with a flight crew, a federal felony offense.
Given that such incidents seem to happen on a monthly basis, generating unwanted publicity for the passengers and the airline, it’s easy to wonder: Would U.S. carriers ever consider flying dry?
After all, a number of international airlines operate alcohol-free flights, mainly on trips
