Another drunken passenger...
 

City woman's air rage quiz Feb 18 2005

By Gregg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo

A LIVERPOOL woman was arrested after she allegedly got drunk and attacked another woman on a flight from Dubai.

It is believed the 23-year-old had to be restrained by police officers after the Emirates flight landed at Manchester airport yesterday.

An Emirates spokeswoman said the captain of the flight, which had 278 passengers, radioed for police assistance on landing.

He was alerted to the incident by stewardesses who said the woman was shouting abuse at them, it is alleged.

The other passenger is believed to have suffered a bite wound during the incident.

Airport police boarded the flight and restrained the Liverpool woman before arresting her on suspicion of assault and being drunk on an aircraft.

The incident happened at 6.10pm after the seven-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates region.

A spokeswoman for Emirates said: "We can confirm the captain of the flight radioed police as he was taxiing on the runway after landing.

"He reported a disturbance between two female passengers and asked for assistance because of the aggressive and abusive behaviour of the passengers.

"Emirates take incidents like this very seriously and we will not tolerate anyone who causes disruption on one of our aircraft.

"We would like to apologise to any other passengers on board the flight who were distressed or upset following the incident.

"This matter is now in the hands of police."

The woman was a passenger on the Emirates Airbus A330 flight EK019, which left Dubai at 2.20pm local time (10.20am GMT).

A Greater Manchester police spokesman said: "The woman is believed to have been behaving aggressively and abusively to passengers and flight attendants before assaulting another passenger.

"She was arrested on suspicion on Section 47 assault and being drunk on an aircraft.

"She has been bailed to re-appear at the airport police station on March 9."

I hope they throw the book at her. This kind of behaviour simply cannot be tolerated - we wouldn't allow it in the street and it certainly cannot be allowed on board aircraft. This severely endangers the safety of the aircraft as the crew then have to divert their attentions to dealing with this completely unnecessary situation, meaning that they then cannot comply with their normal required duties. It will also put added pressure on the flight crew, something which is also highly undesired and unnecessary.

The message needs to go out that this behaviour is a severe criminal offence and she should be given a good spell in a nice cell to give her a chance to think about it. This is one incident that I hope does have the journo's writing (fact based please) stories to publicise the punishment that you will get if you behave like this.

I'm off to fume in the bar now :mad: :mad: :mad:

FJ2k

I fully appreciate that these 'air rage' instances can be dangerous but I do have a small observation...

'DRUNK PASSENGER!!" stories are never ever deemed to be 'bloody tabloid sensationalism' - 'journo scum reporting' et al that is usually the subject of the 2nd or 3rd post in any thread that relates to a newspaper report that relates to someone who is POB but not SLF!

Methinks I smell a double standard...

*dons flameproof gear*

I was on an Emirates flight approx 4yrs ago, one passenger was in the same condition. Unfortunately for them we were going into DXB. Security removed them at DXB. On speaking to one of the cabin crew, they said that they will be going to JAIL fo TWO years the next day. Tis is not a nice prospect. The United Arab Emirates thankfully do not as we do tolerate such behaviour on board aircraft.

Pity that this line is not taken on the UK !!!!

My thoughts :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Sorry, it isn't clear from the quoted article, but did the incident happen after landing or in flight? Was she sober when she boarded and served so much alcohol that she became drunk during the flight; or did she drink her duty free?

Behaviour such as this is unacceptable in any environment, but how did she get to be drunk? I know that way, way back in the sands of time an airline I worked for had to reduce the amount of alcohol on board its flights coming out of a dry North African state because the crew were unhappy (felt unsafe?) telling passengers they couldn't drink any more, but it was easier to say 'sorry sir/madam the bar is empty'.

Alcohol has a strange effect on a minority of people. I know someone who I would happily trust with a daughter if I had one. Then one night we went out and got legless. One moment he was fine and the next a big transformation. He became extreemly agressive towards complete strangers. Even trying to pick a fight with people who were just passing by on the other side of the road and didn't even see him coming.

The strange thing was he appeared to be in a good mood all the time he was being agressive. It's hard to convey how dramatic and strange the change was. Real life Jeckle and Hide stuff. I'm convinced he has no idea that he has this "problem" or that his behavoiur that night was in any way unacceptable.

How should society deal with someone like him?

It's an interesting point and it's not just confined to aviation. I'm sure everyone can name a friend who turns into a t_sser when drunk.

It's a shame because I can see where it's going: either the total elimination of booze on flights, or legally forcing airlines to charge for alcohol. This will spoil it for the rest of us who like to pass the monotonous tedium of long haul flying by relaxing with a bottle of red.

SLFguy
Good point - although, to be fair, it's not necessarily double standards if different people are posting.

If even reading a story likes this makes fastjet2k so hysterical and fuming, I hope he's not an airline pilot.
Air pig - rumour has it (I don't know if it's true) that some states in the UAE chop the hands off people caught stealing. Is that what you think we should do?

BahrainLad,

I agree with you- but what's the alternative- become a "registered" drinker with you favorite airline? I flown enough where I've seen some real a55hole drunks- and I won't apologize because that's the only appropriate descriptive. Fortunately, it has only presented itself as an unpleasantness, not a safety factor.

I think banning people from the airline would go some way- what's your name, here's your yellow card...do it again, fly someone else.

If it's a safety issue-prosecute them for real.

OldAg84

Blacklisting has been talked about for years, trouble is thats all that seems to have happened, talk.

My experience in dealing with drunks on aircraft is it's a double edged sword. If they have got to the stage where they come to notice as stroppy, and demand more drink, they get given it, in some cases making matters worse, but in others keeping them to some extend happy, but also making them more drunk.

On the other hand probably better for them to be kept 'happy' in flight then let the Old Bill deal with it on the ground.

It suprises me that so far no one has (as far as I know) used the defence that they can't have been drunk, because the crew would not have be allowed to serve them enough to get to that state.......

It has to be said that the number of calls I used to get went up after they banned smoking on aircraft.

BahrainLad,
Surely if booze is free the cabin crew have the choice discetion of whom to serve it to, if its not free surely they have to accept the money?

Another drunken passenger
 

When it comes to flying there are a few ways to look at it.

You may in the first instance, BE terrified to fly and need that bit of Dutch courage, let me tell you all, I was terrified of flying.

Then my wife bought me a trial lesson at (Bahrainlad hope your watching this) NEWCASTLE AERO CLUB and I went on to get my PPL, then I suddenly need a drink to get on a holiday flight, reason being I now know how to fly and how an aircraft works, what I now dont know is what is in the hold or even in the cabin overhead lockers.

Yes you have a minority of inebriated people going, or coming back from a sporting event in some other part of the world, they should be given a HAVERSACK told it is a Parachute, and TOSSED OFF.
:O :O

Sorry I meant thrown out.:D

Most writers forget that alcoholism is a sickness or even geneticaly "preprogrammed", as newest studies prove.

Sure, danger to the aircraft, have her removed right away BUT two years in jail? :ooh:

I hope that those calling for harshest punishment never come in a situation, where they did a mistake, and no one even thinks about giving them a second chance!

No place on any aircraft for pax like this...lock her up and throw away the key...

:ok: :yuk:

I agree that people like this should probably be locked up. But rather than focusing on the punishment of offenders i think it would be mor productive to work on prevention. Given that being drunk on an aircraft is a crime and may endanger others, and that cabin crew have no way of knowing how much a pax may have drunk before boarding, i think airlines should simply stop serving alcohol in-flight.

etrang

Drink driving is a crime too, however it is obvious that it's the vehicals that do the physical damage even though the alcohol (+ stupidity) is the cause, as everyday there are accidents that do not involve alcohol, would you therefore also propose a ban on cars, trucks etc?

The fact is no one forces you to drink on an aircraft. If you choose to do so to excess, then you must take the penalty. Personaly I believe that that judge in the USA a few months back had the right idea, adding a requirement to compensate the airline for diversion costs and other pax for inconvenience to the ruling, should add the policing cost too.

Knee jerk laws / rules that make the well behaved majority suffer for the misdeeds of the many are what cause contempt for the law.

I am told that there are a number of cases from LHR going through the system at the moment. These are quite common and contrary to the opinions above, prison is very likely. Unless you are a famous popstar of course, when the jury might get stars in its eyes and acquit!

:uhoh:

You willl never stop alcohol or drug usage by some passengers on some flights. Nor will you stop the smokers puffing in the toilets nor pax drinking their duty free, nor even fornication and fellatio in First Class. This sort of prohibition is impossible to achieve.
I am sure that many of us have had problems with troublesome passengers. I am relieved to say that I have never had a situation arise which was not fairly controllable by either the use of either handcuffs or a very large flight engineer.
Whether as a passenger or as Flight Crew; I always carry a large Mag - Lite in my Carry On/Flight Bag. It is a real life preserver and quite legal, a little like a Linus' Blanket. In the old days in Africa, I used to carry a Colt 45 without the ivory handles, a bit tricky that, today:D

If you have seen the film "Conair"
Maybe thats the answer for special flights for football fans and drunks...

Seems to be catching out of the UAE

This time a British Military Attache arrested after an Etihad flight to Heathrow