Jail term for man drunk on flight

[Old King Coal]

As reported on BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/3721977.stm)Jail term for man drunk on flight

A drunken airline passenger who asked a man to step "outside" for a fight has been jailed for three months.

Lee Rust, 30, of Plymouth, admitted being drunk and disorderly after downing a bottle of vodka before and during the flight from Alicante to Bristol.

The shipbuilder began abusing passengers just 20 minutes into the journey, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Sentencing Rust, Judge Michael Roach said: "This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated on an aircraft."

Prosecutor Ramin Pakrooh said Rust started standing up and swearing early in the easyJet flight on 20 January this year and continued until he arrived in Bristol.

In an attempt to calm him down, a member of the cabin crew was forced to sit with Rust to prevent him from disrupting the flight.W.r.t. 'asked a man to step "outside" for a fight'.... what can one say except 'kin priceless and oh perchance to dream !

[Milt]

Should have opened a door and let him out!!

[standard]

unfortunatly rhis is a problem that is all too familiar to air travel.. particularly on long flights..

sometimes passengers have had just enough that prior to boarding they seem harmless but a few scotches later and a bit of altitude they are out of control.. sometimes giving them just one more drink will put them just over the top and a few minutes later they are sleeping like a baby.. of course each case should be judged on its own merit..

alternativly one could just ban liquor full stop... i am sure there would be a few unhappy passengers though... on the other hand maybe the flight attendants could exercise better judgement and not exercise their RSA (responsible service of alcohol)....

added post without proof reading..:D

ammend :rhis to this and : better judgement and not exercise their RSA should: be better judgement and exercise their RSA

[etrang]

All the airlines claiming to "put passenger safety first" are clearly lying when it comes to alcohol on board.

Alcohol does contribute to many "passenger rage" incidents and yet airlines continue to offer drinks to all passengers because the airlines "put profits first".

[Torquelink]

but it's not fair to penalise the vast majority of pax just because of a tiny handful of d***heads who don't know when to stop . . .

[jettesen]

You can't blame the cabin crew, the gate staff should never have let this guy check in no matter be let through the gate. It happens to me time and time again, if stop serving someone for this reason, someone else will buy it for them. It's impossible to control up there.

[SQUAWKIDENT]

This may sound a bit simplistic (and probably suggested before by someone else but...)

How about breathalying passengers suspected of drinking too much alcohol BEFORE they get on a flight?

[Faire d'income]

After they've produced id to indentify themselves....queued to get to the check-in desk.....produced their passports and tickets for no seat in particular......queued for the security check.....removed jacket, shoes, belt, keys, coins, jewellery,mobile, laptop...opened all hand-luggage for scrutiny passed the check...queued for boarding.....unluckily get picked for another security check.....queue in jetway and in aisle until eventually getting a bad seat.........

Where would you like to insert a breathalyzer check?

[maxy101]

Have to agree with Faire DÍncome ...I pass through LHR T1 several times a week and have to say it is appalling. The poor old BAA staff do their best , but are dealing with a lack of investment in infrastructure (unless you count the duty-free shops) Queues everywhere, long walks to gates through badly lit and unfinished corridors, with wires and cables hanging out of ceilings. Doors slammed in pax faces, as "sorry mate, incoming pax coming through here...not allowed to mix the two" In short , it seems badly organised. Walking through Mexico airport the other day, I marvelled to the other bloke " how come Mexico can afford a decent airport and we are still in the dark ages?"

[ad astra]

I'm wondering then why Vinnie Jones only got community service?

[spiney]

I agree with the sceptics... exactly who's going to administer breath tests, under what circumstances, and to whom? What limits do you set? Drink Driving Limit? Higher? Lower? Let's get real - there's very little if any correlation between a breath test result and whether or not this person is going to be a model passenger or not...

Why do I get tested but not this person? Your kids can fly, but not you Mrs Jones... Picture the scene - you've checked in two hours early, for a flight that's two hours late, wrestled your way through the mess and stress that masquerades as an Airport, and you've had three or four drinks while you're waiting... then they turn round say you can't fly... there'd be riots at the Gate - all neatly passed on to the Crew.... and not to mention some very empty Business and First Cabins...

Warn 'em on the ticket, control 'em in the cabin, and charge 'em to the fullest extent of the Law...

[A and C]

Airlines are run for the 99.9% of the customers who act in a responsable way NOT for the 0.1% who are disruptive and it should stay that way !.

NO PANDERING TO THE BAN EVERYTHING BRIGADE !!!!!!!!!.

[Nineiron]

"Warn 'em on the ticket, control 'em in the cabin, and charge 'em to the fullest extent of the Law..." Post warnings in the departure lounge bars as well.

As part of rehabiltation after conviction, these passengers should be obliged to attend a cabin evacuation drills course, as most of them have no idea of what is involved.

Not enough passengers (and critics) realise that the captain's word is the law. If they don't feel that the command structure is "PC", dont fly, don't go on a ship - and I think the guard can throw you off a train if he sees fit.

Anyway, if the cabin gets rowdy, slowly raise the temperature and the cabin altititude. You'll have 'em sleeping like babies. Let the CC know of course!

[SQUAWKIDENT]

I'd much rather detect a potential "incident" before they reach the aircraft rather than having to deal with it in the confines of the cabin at FL370. Point taken though - where and how would you be able to "take them aside" before they get on the aircraft.

[Towerman]

Out of interest - are there any unofficial limits on when cabin crew will stop serving alcohol - e.g. after a bottle of wine or six spirits say?

Or, provided the passenger is well behaved - could they in theory drink the bar dry??

[Ozzy]

I fall asleep long before the bar is dry:E

Ozzy

[Self Loading Freight]

The best I've ever done was on my first trip to Vegas to cover a computer show, in the company of three other journalists. One was an old hand at this particular jaunt, and dispensed valuable advice about surviving without involuntary sobriety (for example: Vegas hotels never have mini-bars and don't do booze via room service, because they want you out on the floor all the time. Always stock up with a litre of scotch on the way out).

As soon as the first meal was cleared away, he asked the Dispenser of All Good Things for a large brandy apiece for the four of us (all sitting together). She was pleased to comply. She seemed slightly less pleased when we repeated the order around ten minutes later, and twenty minutes after that she was showing signs of concern.

"We're journalists." said my friend, pulling open the seatback pocket in front of him. She understood immediately, and placed several handfuls of miniatures next to the in-flight rag. Everyone happy...

These days, though, I seem to be happy with a bloody mary after t/o, the wine with the meal and a small scotch afterwards. Either I'm getting saner, or more circumspect...

R