BBC article: Airport alcohol sales to be 'examined' by Lord Ahmad
 

Doubtless many Ppruners will have their two penn'oth to add to this story!

Airport alcohol sales to be 'examined' by Lord Ahmad - BBC News

442 persons out of >220 Million if the BBC article is correct!!

Well I think it should be limited. Not banned. Linked some how to boarding cards where it can be tracked. I don't see why I should be denied my 04:00AM mimosa before my long awaited holiday just because some idiots can't handled themselves and see it as a competition to be a vile as possible.

And airports are merely walk through bars. The planes and the runway are incidental. If nobody is spending in the over priced bars then passenger charges will simply increase.

Too often the airports simply pass the problem on to the airlines. Getting the passengers as drunk as they can and then waving the passengers through the gate (few gate staff are actually employed by the airline) and getting them onboard.

We airlines are getting good at turning people away. It's no skin of our bones. We have their money already so we are sitting pretty. We also cancel their return flight so we can resell their seat. Again, more money for us. But more importantly a better and safer travel experience for the non morons.

My immediate reaction to the article was that an "examination" will lead to...exactly no action being taken, and that is what I fully expect to happen.

Nevertheless, I'm not sure what "action" is required. It seems pretty clear that the problem is (a) limited to a very, very small fraction of passengers; and (b) that no group responsible for any part of the passenger journey, from check-in to destination, seems willing to deal with it.

Even so, the effect of alcohol-based disruptive behaviour is out of all proportion to the number of people doing it, especially if you're a well-behaved passenger on a disrupted flight.

My personal view is that no seller of alcohol at airports wants to restrict their sales, because they have enormous rents to pay to the airport. The gate staff, as has already been pointed out, have no incentive to deal with it; indeed, it seems to me that the only incentive they do have is to get everyone through the gate as close to on-time as possible and as quickly as possible.

Don't airport security have a role to play here? If they see loud and obnoxious behaviour airside, can't they do something about it, like detain or question them, warn gate staff, etc? I admit I know little or nothing about how roles and responsibilities are assigned at airports, so this is just thinking off the top of my head.

Ive been in many a VIP lounge and seen the actions of so-called Business representatives downing glass after glass of "free" wines, spirits and lagers.... So if we crack down on alcohol in airports will it be a class thing, drink as many £4 pints as you can until you run out of money, or pull the gents/ladies who can avail themselves of bottles of alcohol in a lounge?

This can set a very dangerous precedent .

The person looking into this problem, I believe , should be teetotal. That shouldn't , and hopefully won't have any bearing on the case. Maybe one of the crew could be stationed with the boarding staff, who are supposed to stick with that carriers rules, so that evidently drunk people can, and will be refused entry onboard.

Interesting times ahead, but in my view more nanny state. We will try to control every part of your life, by giving you information to prove everything we say is true. We need to be careful.

I certainly agree that everyone wants to sell booze and there is no overall control. Which is the same case in almost every aspect of life in the UK nowadays.

The Guardian article on this has the answer (my emphasis)
http://cdn.pprune.org/images/smilies/yeees.gif

Can anyone save us from newly appointed men who think that they must do SOMETHING or ANYTHING to justify their new job title ...:rolleyes:

I do hope that chrissw is correct:
After all, this IS still Britain. :}

What fascinates me about this "issue" is the idea of appointing a Muslim to investigate alcohol sales.
Regardless of the religion of this man, hasn't the government figured out there are laws that, if applied properly, will regulate this issue. As far as I am aware, it is an offence for bar staff/licencees to serve alcohol to anybody who appears to be under the influence. Also, it is the right of the airport management to refuse entry to their airport to anybody who arrives at the airport obviously pissed. If the above were enforced, not so many passengers would be rocking up at the gate under the influence. If they get rat bagged during the flight, then that is entirely down to the airline. It doesn't need a member of the House of Lords to rack up thousands of pounds in expenses to figure out that when people drink too much, they end up inebriated!

Exactly! Certainly not acceptable to me.
Although, I have Muslim friends who indulge including *****(I only drink Champagne) ******** (Name withheld to protect the guilty ;) )

Airlines also need to recognise that by their on board pricing, they are encouraging pre-loading. Even with airport bars' obscene prices, they are still cheaper than on board.

If they were really serious they would close their bars. Works for SV/KU/IR and some others.

Regardless of whether the Minister is a Muslim or a (equally teetotal) Methodist, the situation/problem existed before he was appointed. It's therefore hardly surprising that he should want to tackle the issue, whether or not he disproves of all drinking.

There are two cultures: 1) Make as much money as possible out of the punters passing through 2) The British drinking culture that sees people drunk in the streets of towns every week.

This issue is not going to be changed by ANY sort of inquiry. For an 'Aviation Minister' (newly appointed or not) this is a teeny-tiny problem. There are real problems of runways and fatigue of flight crew to be tackled. This is being done to impress the Daily Fail.

Why do we have to have alcohol at airports anyway?Or on flights?Medically its not good for you when flying so get rid of it I say!I can go 12 hours without a drink,can go a lot longer if I want ,can you?

Like the decision on the runway at LHR/LGW we'll all die before a decision is made. Same for alcohol at airports. Too much cash at stake. What punters should realise is that 'duty free' booze is much cheaper at your local ASDA, Tesco et al. Bars still charge the same whether your landside or airside. Must be around £5 a pint now?

Quote: Why do we have to have alcohol at airports anyway?Or on flights?Medically its not good for you when flying so get rid of it I say!I can go 12 hours without a drink,can go a lot longer if I want ,can you?

Because lots of ordinary, sensible people enjoy a glass of beer or a wine whilst passing the time and avoiding the overpriced shops that infest airports.

Lots of people can go 12 hours without alcohol but in a free society that should not be forced, al la Saudi Arabia, on everyone.

I don't know how airport bar staff could limit drinks to the travellers who abuse the facility. They usually hunt in packs and a different one goes to bar and orders each round of drinks.

Saudi hardly force you not to drink its just the way they are!Having flown from Saudi on both BA and Saudi I know which I prefer!!Some time ago so things may have changed from when the bar on BA was open house .

Do away with service at the Bar. Waitperson service only. Yes, I know that's not very British - but it would put a bit of a damper on the binging.

Quote: Saudi hardly force you not to drink its just the way they are!Having flown from Saudi on both BA and Saudi I know which I prefer!!Some time ago so things may have changed from

Oh right you are.:confused: I must have imagined it all of those years I flew in and out of Saudi. Of course they were quite happy for me to bring a litre of Gin in with me.

I am, believe it or not, not a practicing Muslim and have no religious requirement not to drink alcohol. So if Saudi was not forcing me to abstain what was happening?

Don't say it is a Muslim country so no alcohol as I have a home in Turkey which is 98% Muslim and have enjoyed many a locally produced beer.:ok:

Too true. As BA crew we used to see oil workers tank themselves up before arriving in Saudia and fall off the aircraft. In those days Saudis didn't know what a drunk was. Likewise on the return, never mind breakfast open that ******* bar!

Must be the british psyche!!They did indeed rush for the bar !Its amazing that people cannot go without alcohol for short periods.I was one of those workers and I could get alcohol anywhere in Saudi!In fact on our camp beer and winewas made ,only the "Sadicki"came in by truck every Thursday evening.

Curb sales of alcohol at airports, then watch the drop off charge, trolley charge, "express" security lane charge - and frankly any other charge they can think of rising to cover the shortfall in revenue from the booze pedlars. Airlines don't think it's their job to pay for the facilities, so the onus falls upon the traveller.

I have never been able to understand why people need to be getting pints of lager down their necks at 7:00 in the morning, bacon and egg seems a better choice to me! If it would make the family holiday flight more bearable by not having tanked up idiots on board I actually think it would be no bad thing. Might also make the cabin crew job rather less arduous, which would be a good thing too.

Whether the aviation minister should be wasting time on such matters? Well he probably ought to have more pressing matters in his red boxes..

The need or otherwise to be downing pints at 07.00 is that while it might be your 07.00, it might be someone else's 17.00 in this 24 hour a day business.

I found market forces to be quite an efficient regulator last month whilst passing through LCY.

The Euro footy was on, so the one and only bar was rammed with people glued to the box.

Cue me with a fiver to my name, thinking well I wouldn't normally pay rip-off airport prices, but oh what the hell.

Seem to recall the cheapest pint was in excess of 6?

Sobering....

... And the price of a 330 ml tin of beer onboard? £4! That's £6.88 a pint. (4/330*568.2612) and applies regardless if the airline has paid excise taxes or VAT.

No wonder people buy the 'cheaper' airport beers, or drink their duty free.

Sobering ...

A £5 a pint is pretty standard. In my local airport it's £5 a pint and we live in the provinces. That applies wether the airport has paid tax or not (and believe me nobody cares who pays tax to where - Its the catering companies charging the tax and not the airlines.).

In London or downtown Geneva you'll be lucky to get a pint anywhere pleasant for less than £6/7. You also conveniently neglect to mention the £5.20 double branded spirits and branded mixers onboard. You'll not get that in a wetherspoons in London. It's also around £30 for a full bottle of champagne. Or £16ish for a whole bottle of wine. Chain 'restaurant' prices. People will pay that on their twice weekly visits to Frankie and Benys or Pizza Express. Why should an aircraft be less expensive when it has all of the overheads associated with supplying catering on an aircraft.

People drink in airports because they know they'll be limited onboard and pre flight drinking won't stop, even if it was a free bar onboard. It's a chance to tank up pre flight and not have to wait for a trolley service to pass through the cabin and that's before the crews limit their supply or heaven forbid the captain decide to run a dry flight.

The airports have made the pre flight experience into a pub crawl, not £4 tins of warm beer onboard. Should we employ shooter girls selling £1 shots onboard?

No, but Hooters girls are always welcome :E

p.s. Just in case anyone wasn't aware:

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/...20141124232932

I see that Jet2 will BAN all on board booze sales BEFORE 8AM!

My goodness, they must be serious about this.

Sarcasm aside, if they wanted to be serious they would ban all booze sales and breathalyse all their passengers before boarding.

8AM, my goodness!

Are we allowed to draw conclusions about J2's pax? The good news is that Jet2 have clearly announced their demographic and that it does not include me.

I see Jet2 wants the airports to follow their lead and also ban alcohol sales before 8AM. Now how does that make any sense at all?

It doesn't. It's the evening and late afternoon beach flights that are the problem. I recall the occasional idiot but I don't recall and trouble on early flights. I think it's just a gesture to get free publicity for the airline

They should investigate the prices in the "Duty Free" shops. They seem so far removed from real duty free prices, they are probably breaking the trades description act, and guilty of false advertising.

Certainly are. Used to pick up crew orders from Saccone & Speed in Gib; proper duty free - and the drink of your choice whilst the order was collated :ok:

Not just the shops, the airlines also abuse the phrase 'duty free' as well. In particular on flights where in flight sales are exempt from excise tax and VAT but passengers are charged the same price as intra-EU flights.

We all know that Human beings want to pay the minimum to get the maximum. Tis has been unchanged in all recorded time. Nowadays, you 'pay less' by paying less - more often!

Drinking is an unpleasant part of British culture. Over the years do-gooders and unelected moral guardians have created dry-zones and restricted sales in such a way that people think they have to drink, just in case they can't. Add in rapacious sales outlets, greedy airlines and holiday spirit we have a recipe for drinking to excess.

As for control, I think we have enough law, all we have to do is apply it. I've bounced off quite a few and never had a problem.

PM