Alcohol on board: what’s the danger?

According to the results of the annual Cheap Flight survey, most flying Americans cannot imagine flying without drinking alcohol. Various factors affect: fear of heights, annoying chatty neighbors, the desire to relax and fall asleep.

Air passengers' opinion

“Well, of course, I know that drinking alcohol on board the plane is harmful. But, my God, if you list all the harmful things that we do every day, the fingers of both hands will not be enough. I will put it this way, if you put discomfort on one side of the scale, which will be brought to me by an annoying neighbor in the chair or a hysterically sobbing child, and on the other – harm from alcohol, then I will definitely choose the latter and calmly sleep the whole flight. “
Sebastian, Illinois
“I am for a healthy lifestyle and compliance with the rules set by the airline. At flight altitude, our body is already exposed to significant overloads, so why drink alcohol. Wouldn't it be better to take 2 liters of water with you and drink it along the route, as I do. “
Batsy, California

How does alcohol in the air affect human health?

Even if, according to self-perception, the passenger does not notice sudden changes after taking alcohol at flight altitude, the body is already beginning its provocative subversive activity, which can lead to serious negative consequences.
• Oxygen starvation worsens
• Respiratory rate decreases
• There is an increased negative effect on the cardiovascular system, which can cause a heart attack and increase the likelihood of exacerbation of other diseases, especially chronic ones.

The social factor of the danger of the presence of drunk passengers on board

The history of world civil aviation is replete with high-profile examples of those troubles and their consequences, which led to the antics of drunken passengers in the cabin. These are scandals, and fights, and demoralization of the atmosphere in the cabin, and the resulting panic among other passengers, and fear for children, since a drunk person is uncontrollable.
Unfortunately, the stewards do not have the ability to isolate such passengers, so they have to admonish only to a calm explanation of the situation and a request to calm down. An attempt to call for help male passengers can only exacerbate the situation and provoke a fight.

What measures are taken by airlines

“Who wants to get drunk” – the aviators joke. After all, any passenger can bring alcohol purchased in Duty Free into the cabin and drink it unnoticed. And the other can do it before check-in. And then, sitting, for example, in a first-class cabin, increase the degree of the drinks offered there. Although, it is worth noting that in the first class passengers are offered high-quality expensive cognac, whiskey and wine, and the dose for one person does not exceed 250 ml.

• Airlines in the UK and Northern Ireland, in order to ensure safety, have taken an initiative to completely ban the sale of alcohol in terminals.
• Russian airlines did not come to a consensus, although this issue is under active discussion. Nevertheless, on Aeroflot flights, they openly offer assorted alcohol, and other companies have introduced a ban on alcohol during the flight.
• All charter flights are absolutely alcohol-free, and due to this they reduce the cost of air tickets.

What is the punishment for violators of order on board

If we present the list of punishments in the form of a rating from simple to complex, then it will look like this:
• fairly high penalties
• inclusion in the “Black List of Violators”
• no fly status, which means “not allowed to fly” (practiced at Aeroflot)
• deprivation of the right to fly for 5 years (airline KLM)
• lifetime ban on air travel (airline British Airways).