And there is no way that a pax who the ground staff say "has had a few" will be boarded due to the fact that they are an unknown risk and when they promise to have no more once they are boarded want another drink ASAP.
Maybe not at Qantas, but when I worked in the terminals it certainly occurred at Virgin, Jetstar, Impulse and with several international carriers on a fairly regular basis (with the international airlines, pax would clear Immigration sober, but then head straight for the departure lounge bar). Impulse famously boarded The Screaming Jets despite their obvious intoxication and then changed their minds halfway through taxi, returned to the bay and chucked them off. I don't know whether it is still a problem.
This is without factoring in the pax who can seem perfectly sober at checkin and then turn into chimpanzees on pushback.
If the younger staff are a problem maybe the airline is not recruiting the right people, or maybe they can no longer attract them. This is certainly the case with the independent ground handling companies infesting the nation's international terminals and ramps. Their management all-stars still haven't figured out the peanut / monkey equation. I agree that the beehives (your term not mine
) are generally good at handling trouble before it becomes real trouble.