Crackdown on 'excessive' drinking at UK airports

Crackdown: The Government has promised harsh punishments for disruptive passengers
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Drunks will not be allowed to ruin family holidays under a new government clampdown on alcohol at airports.

Airport bars will be stopped from serving customers who want to drink 'excessively', under the new guidelines published today.

They include a ban on people drinking alcohol bought at duty free or brought to the airport themselves.

The new rules have been issued with the backing from the Department for Transport.

Under the plans, any alcohol bought at duty free would have to be stored away from passengers on flights, or in sealed bags which can be checked by cabin crew.

Zero tolerance: Lord Ahmad will review airport alcohol sales
Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire

Staff in airport bars and restaurants would also be trained to limit or stop the sale of alcohol to prevent or manage disruptive behaviour.

The new rules were published today in the UK Aviation Industry Code of Practice on disruptive passengers.

Recent police statistics show hundreds of passengers were arrested on suspicion of being drunk on a plane or at an airport in the last two years.

Figures obtained following freedom of information requests showed at least 442 people were held between March 2014 and March 2016.

New aviation minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon questioned airports being allowed to sell alcohol 24 hours a day due to them not being subjected to licensing laws.

He said: “If you're a young family travelling on a plane you want to go from point A to B, you don't want to be disrupted.

"I don't think we want to kill merriment altogether, but I think it's important that passengers who board planes are also responsible and have a responsibility to other passengers, and that certainly should be the factor which we bear in mind.

"In terms of specific regulations of timings of outlets (which sell alcohol) and how they operate, clearly I want to have a look at that."

In February six men on a stag party were arrested by German police after a mid-air brawl caused a Ryanair flight from Luton to Bratislava, Slovakia, to divert to Berlin.

Another recent case involved a female passenger punching an easyJet pilot in the face after being ordered to leave an aircraft before it took off from Manchester in May.

Lord Ahmad’s predecessor, Robert Goodwill, revealed last year that several airlines had written to the Government to warn about the number of alcohol-related incidents.

Glasgow and Manchester airports have trialled a scheme with shops selling alcohol in sealed bags in a bid to reduce problems on flights.

A code of practice on disruptive passengers was published earlier this week following collaboration between airlines, airports, the police and retailers.

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