When I was ten years old, my parents put me on a Piedmont Airlines turbo prop and sent me to visit my sister in Florida. Prior to that, my only flying experience had been when I imitated Superman and leaped off the back of the living room sofa, but the flight to Florida lasted much longer. In those days everyone got dressed up to fly, so the plane was filled with people who looked like they were on their way to church. Male passengers had on ties and jackets, and the ladies all wore dresses. Everyone was well-behaved, and it was a wonderful experience except that the cabin was filled with cigarette smoke. That’s because back then, passengers were allowed to light up. Later that year, though, the Surgeon General issued his first warning about the dangers of smoking and, before long, frequent flyers could no longer be frequent smokers. Smoking and non-smoking sections were designated in planes beginning in 1973, and four years later, the Civil Aeronautics Board banned cigars and pipes on planes. In 1995, Delta became the first airline to ban smoking altogether, and in 2000, President Clinton signed an order banning smoking on all commercial flights.
I mention all this because there is another airline industry-related ban in the works. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey wants to ban the sale of alcohol in airport bars and restaurants. Why? Because in 2021 there were nearly 6,000 cases of unruly passengers, leading Markey to describe the problem as, “an epidemic of violent behavior on planes.” And while pandemic tempers and anti-maskers account for many of the scuffles, alcohol is believed to be the catalyst to most. Commenting to YahooFinance.com, Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the following:
The problem with aviation right now is the violence toward flight attendants and other aviation workers…Alcohol is absolutely a contributor. I don’t want to say that alcohol is always the cause for these events, but alcohol is the biggest contributor to them.
But does Senator Markey’s proposed ban go far enough to prevent violent in-flight behavior? Sadly, no. What if, for example, someone had two drinks before leaving home, never patronized an airport bar, and went straight to boarding?
In that case, he might not seem impaired to the boarding agent, nor to the flight attendants who would have no reason not to serve him two more drinks after take-off. That’s why in addition to supporting Markey’s airport bar ban, I also support banning alcoholic beverages during the flight. Absent that, then all boarding agents should be required to administer a breathalyzer test to every adult passenger, the same way many pandemic-era offices and hospitals once required an infrared temperature check to be administered before someone could enter the premises.
I wish these bans and preventive measures weren’t necessary, but today’s airline passengers are not as well behaved as they were when I was a child. Back then, those well-dressed folks were served mixed drinks, but they didn’t get into fights with the crew or other passengers. The fact is we’re living in troubled and unprecedented times, and if banning alcohol, even temporarily, will help mitigate in-flight violence, then so be it. It is disconcerting to know that there are a lot of idiotic, inconsiderate, and violent people roaming around free, but it’s downright scary to think I might be trapped 30,000 feet in the air with one of them. Banning alcohol in airports and planes is a small price to pay for protecting the health and safety of everyone who flies.
January 11, 2022 @ 6:42 am
Time to Ban Alcohol From Airports
When I was ten years old, my parents put me on a Piedmont Airlines turbo prop and sent me to visit my sister in Florida. Prior to that, my only flying experience had been when I imitated Superman and leaped off the back of the living room sofa, but the flight to Florida lasted much longer. In those days everyone got dressed up to fly, so the plane was filled with people who looked like they were on their way to church. Male passengers had on ties and jackets, and the ladies all wore dresses. Everyone was well-behaved, and it was a wonderful experience except that the cabin was filled with cigarette smoke. That’s because back then, passengers were allowed to light up. Later that year, though, the Surgeon General issued his first warning about the dangers of smoking and, before long, frequent flyers could no longer be frequent smokers. Smoking and non-smoking sections were designated in planes beginning in 1973, and four years later, the Civil Aeronautics Board banned cigars and pipes on planes. In 1995, Delta became the first airline to ban smoking altogether, and in 2000, President Clinton signed an order banning smoking on all commercial flights.
I mention all this because there is another airline industry-related ban in the works. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey wants to ban the sale of alcohol in airport bars and restaurants. Why? Because in 2021 there were nearly 6,000 cases of unruly passengers, leading Markey to describe the problem as, “an epidemic of violent behavior on planes.” And while pandemic tempers and anti-maskers account for many of the scuffles, alcohol is believed to be the catalyst to most. Commenting to YahooFinance.com, Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the following:
But does Senator Markey’s proposed ban go far enough to prevent violent in-flight behavior? Sadly, no. What if, for example, someone had two drinks before leaving home, never patronized an airport bar, and went straight to boarding?
In that case, he might not seem impaired to the boarding agent, nor to the flight attendants who would have no reason not to serve him two more drinks after take-off. That’s why in addition to supporting Markey’s airport bar ban, I also support banning alcoholic beverages during the flight. Absent that, then all boarding agents should be required to administer a breathalyzer test to every adult passenger, the same way many pandemic-era offices and hospitals once required an infrared temperature check to be administered before someone could enter the premises.
I wish these bans and preventive measures weren’t necessary, but today’s airline passengers are not as well behaved as they were when I was a child. Back then, those well-dressed folks were served mixed drinks, but they didn’t get into fights with the crew or other passengers. The fact is we’re living in troubled and unprecedented times, and if banning alcohol, even temporarily, will help mitigate in-flight violence, then so be it. It is disconcerting to know that there are a lot of idiotic, inconsiderate, and violent people roaming around free, but it’s downright scary to think I might be trapped 30,000 feet in the air with one of them. Banning alcohol in airports and planes is a small price to pay for protecting the health and safety of everyone who flies.