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Regular-article-logo Thursday, 17 July 2025

Tipple at airport? Airlines want ban

Domestic airlines have sought a ban on drinking at India's airports, citing the growing instances of fliers guzzling liquor after clearing security and misbehaving inside aircraft.

Our Special Correspondent Published 04.05.16, 12:00 AM

New Delhi, May 3: Domestic airlines have sought a ban on drinking at India's airports, citing the growing instances of fliers guzzling liquor after clearing security and misbehaving inside aircraft.

The Federation of Indian Airlines, representing private carriers such as Jet Airways, GoAir, IndiGo and SpiceJet, has requested closure of the bars and shops selling alcohol at domestic terminals. These are located usually in the security hold area (departure lounge).

Its demand, expressed in a letter to the directorate-general of civil aviation, doesn't extend to the international terminals or the duty-free shops selling liquor.

Drunken passengers delay flights, inconvenience fellow fliers and airline staff and threaten safety, the federation has told the aviation regulator.

Although the Indian Aircraft Rules of 1937 and Section 3 of the Civil Aviation Requirement make it illegal to board a plane drunk, the easy availability of alcohol at airports allows many passengers to do just that, the airlines have argued.

"It becomes practically difficult to identify such persons during the boarding process because of limited time available for scrutiny, and thus could lead to unsafe/unpleasant situation in case the passenger becomes unruly on board," the letter says.

Airline sources said that passenger drunkenness had become a "routine affair"#although there are no data on its frequency.

"There have been instances of passengers not listening to the boarding announcement because they have been drinking at the bar and then creating a ruckus saying they were not called before takeoff," said Ajay Jasra, general manager (corporate affairs), SpiceJet.

"On other occasions, they board the plane drunk and get aggressive or abrasive and create scenes while the plane is in mid-air."

He recalled that a passenger with high blood pressure, and later found to have been drunk, had suffered a heart attack on a Delhi-Goa flight a few months ago because of low air pressure at altitude.

Industry experts seconded the airlines' demand.

"It looks like the DGCA is favouring private airport operators by allowing them to open liquor shops, but if its own rule is against drinking on domestic sectors, the regulator needs to reconsider its permission," said an aviation expert working in the India office of a multi-national consulting firm.

A senior official at the directorate-general said that it had received the airlines' request but was "yet to make up its mind on the matter".

Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Calcutta and several other airports have liquor shops and bars in their departure areas.

Airline sources said that international passengers, knowing they would be served liquor on the flight, do not generally drink before boarding. They added that drink-driven misbehaviour on board was largely an Indian problem.

Airlines were earlier this year given permission to carry plastic handcuffs to restrain unruly passengers.

A senior Jet executive said that it made no sense for the authorities to allow the sale and consumption of liquor in airports when fliers are barred from entering the aircraft intoxicated.

"This rule is contradictory to begin with, so these shops should be done away with," he said.

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