Summer is not far off, which means many of us are beginning to think about holidays. I have a few plans myself, and like most people I rather enjoy the moment when work is briefly put aside and the journey begins.
For some, that moment starts with a drink at the airport. Recently, this has become a live debate again after Michael O’Leary of Ryanair called for limits on early-morning airport alcohol sales, saying disruptive passengers are now causing nearly one flight diversion a day, compared with about one a week a decade ago. Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin has pushed back, calling such proposals impractical and an example of “Big Brother” legislating. So we are back in a very British argument: is the 6.a.m. airport pint harmless holiday tradition, or bad pharmacology dressed up as culture?
This is not an abstract issue. British passengers have been involved in a number of alcohol-related incidents in recent years, including flights diverted after drunken or disruptive behaviour. One Ryanair flight from London Luton to Alicante was diverted to Toulouse after a group of passengers became disruptive; another Wizz Air flight from Gatwick to Egypt was diverted to Athens after a reportedly drunk and unruly passenger refused to comply with cabin crew.
I have had my own experience of this, though fortunately at the less dangerous end. A few years ago, I was on a flight to Cyprus when, before take-off, a young man came running down the aisle trying to reach the toilet. He did not make it. He vomited over several passengers, myself included, though I was not the worst affected. It was quite clear he was drunk; there were no solids in the vomit, which told its own story. I was pretty annoyed, as you might imagine, but I also felt sorry for him. It must have been horribly embarrassing, and certainly expensive, as he was removed from the flight.
Alcohol has long been served on planes partly because flying makes many people anxious. It reduces fear and tension, which is why airlines routinely serve it well before the lunch or dinner cart comes along.
The problem is that alcohol is a blunt instrument. It may help some people feel calmer initially, but it also impairs judgement, disinhibits behaviour, dehydrates, worsens sleep, and can make already stressful travel situations worse.Airports and planes also encourage over-drinking. People are often tired, dehydrated, bored, delayed, or mildly stressed. Once through security, time becomes oddly suspended. A drink at 6am feels less strange when the airport is already full of people behaving as if they are halfway to holiday mode.
I am not interested in moralising about this. Humans drink before flights for understandable reasons: they want to relax, reduce tension, and begin the social part of the holiday. The question is whether alcohol is the best tool for that job.
It would make far more sense for airports and airlines to offer alternatives that meet the same human need, rather than pretending bottled water and fizzy drinks are an adequate answer. People do not just want liquid. They want ease, ritual, confidence, and a sense that the holiday has begun.
That is where I think the future lies: not in scolding people for wanting to relax, but in giving them better ways to do it. Better choices before we fly may mean calmer journeys for everyone.
— David Nutt
