Originally Posted by
GingerFI
The trick is moderation, as previously discussed. If on a nightstop/layover and you fancy a glass of wine with a meal then that if you’re choice as an adult and as a professional. It does not mean that person has a drinking problem. In fact if as an adult and a professional, even if on a single occasion you have too much to drink on a layover you can still act as an adult and a professional and call in sick (unfit for duty as you are!) even that doesn’t define you as having a drinking problem. Of course if it becomes a pattern of behaviour then it may indicate an issue.We are all human and make mistakes. It’s how we deal with those mistakes that defines us.
The reality is, we do not need more blanket rules such as “no drinking down route”. We just need professionals to behave like professionals.
When I'd go on remote flight tests, the flight test crews were often heavy drinkers. Then again, most of the places we went remote were in fact pretty remote, with little to do but join your coworkers in the hotel bar. But the pilots would always disappear about 10 hours before the planned pre-flight briefing (which typically started about two hours before we boarded the aircraft so ~12 hours bottle to throttle). As noted, professionals just need to act like professionals.