Alcohol and planes: Proof that they really should not be mixed!

Ok, so I'm not referring to pilots downing a few brandies before transporting their passengers to far-flung destinations. Rather, the passengers who insist on plying themselves with drinks before taking to the skies. We all get a little nervous sometimes but is drink really the way forward for flying? I doubt it.

Recent figures suggest that as many as a quarter of the 3,500 passenger interruptions have been alcohol fuelled, with these passengers arriving drunk at the check-in desk.

These passenger clearly pose a security risk on flights. With alcohol acting as a catalyst for stupidity and aggression and with security on planes becoming stricter and stricter due to the risk of terrorism, an alcohol ban seems increasingly imminent.

On the other hand, it could be argued that a ban would be unfair for the majority of placid alcohol drinking folk who consume the odd drink to make their journey that little bit more bearable. And how far would such a ban go? Would all alcohol within the airport be banned or just on the plane? Or would it be possible to monitor drinkers and regulate the amount they consume?

In my opinion, the way forward includes screening intoxicated passengers before they embark on a flight and incorporating this with a a limit on the amount of drinks that can be consumed on a flight. If a rule such as this could be used across all airlines then the high figures of delays attributed to intoxicated passengers would surely plummet.