....These Business men were resident in the UAE, so therefor must have known what the laws regarding alcohol,etc were.
Sir Osis, what are you saying here, that all residents should carry their grog license when they go flying ? I don't think these guys were UAE residents anyway, as directors/managers of an Australian resources company, I could be wrong. EK serves champagne to its 1st class passengers on the ground in Dubai and I would be surprised if EY was any different in Abu Dhabi. So how do you reconcile that with the law?
To the best of my knowledge, drunk passengers on EK who get met be security do not get charged with drinking without a licence, it would be plain stupid and against the interest of the airline and therefor the government. Either way EY has got nothing but bad
PR from this and I would wager that you haven't heard the last from these guys on the issue as it is a regular humourous news article in business news in Australia. I must point out that I do not condone bad passenger behaviour, I have had enough of that.