Airlines Limiting Alcoholic Drinks For Passengers

Some European airlines have started a trend of limiting alcoholic drinks served in flight as part of calls to curb disruptions from unruly passengers. In the latest example, Scandinavian carrier SAS issued guidelines recommending a limit of three drinks per passenger on intra-Europe flights, The Localof Norway reported this week. "We had a few situations last year, but I can't go into the details," Malin Selander, a spokeswoman in Sweden, told The Local. "These are not hard and fast rules, but guidelines that cabin crew can lean on so that if passengers appear to be getting too drunk they can be asked to stop drinking."The concept has been adopted in recent months by other European discount carriers. Ryanair in April began prohibiting drinking on flights between Glasgow and Ibiza, a resort area in Spain, after the route became known for the drunken rowdiness taking place. AndJet2 banned two people for life in May after they caused disruptions, one of which caused a flight to divert to France, The Independent reported.

According to a USA Todayreport this week on the drinking bans, the International Air Transport Association last year called for measures to control the increasing level of onboard unruliness. A spokesman for the trade group said airlines reported 20,000 instances of disruptions by troublesome passengers between 2010 and 2013. In a related effort to address the problem, the International Civil Aviation Organization adopted new protocols in 2014 designed to give air carriers more leverage in pursuing reimbursement from passengers as well as expanding jurisdiction to destinations, not just the countries where aircraft are based. For example, Singapore's aviation authority said it will give local law enforcement the ability to press charges against unruly passengers there even if they're not flying on a Singapore carrier, The Straits Times reported.