A 'sky's the limit' threat to booze sales at Manchester Airport
A review will look at restricting airport booze sales to curb drunken behaviour on-board.
The new aviation minister has announced he will examine the way alcohol is sold at airports amid a spate of incidents at Manchester and other airports involving drunk passengers.
In one recent case at Manchester a woman passenger punched a pilot when she was ordered the disembark the Easyjet flight before take-off.
Manchester has the highest number of incidents in England outside the main London airports and according to figures at least 30 people were held between March 2014 and March 2016. Other incidents include passengers trying to smash windows and banging on the cockpit door demanding more booze.
Minister, Lord Ahmad pledged to ensure the way in which unruly travellers are stopped from going through airport departure gates is fit for purpose''.
Lord Ahmad said: If you're a young family travelling on a plane you want to go from point A to B, you don't want to be disrupted.
I don't think we want to kill merriment altogether, but I think it's important that passengers who board planes are also responsible and have a responsibility to other passengers, and that certainly should be the factor which we bear in mind.
In terms of specific regulations of timings of outlets (which sell alcohol) and how they operate, clearly I want to have a look at that.''
Lord Ahmad was appointed aviation minister by Theresa May when she became Prime Minister earlier this month.
Manchester Airport has trialled a scheme with shops selling alcohol in sealed bags in a bid to reduce problems on flights.
Budget carrier Jet2.com is conducting a campaign to tackle problems caused by drunk passengers.
The airline's managing director, Phil Ward, said: Disruptive behaviour on flights and at airports, often driven by excessive consumption of alcohol, is unacceptable and something we have been working hard to reduce.''
For more information on Jet2 go to: http://www.jet2.com/,
Trade bodies representing UK airlines and airports said such incidents are a very rare occurrence'', but warned they can lead toserious consequences''.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of the British Air Transport Association, and Ed Anderson, chairman of the Airport Operators Association, said in a joint statement: These incidents can be costly and cause delays.
With air travel proving more popular than ever, and passenger numbers expected to rise across the whole of the UK in the coming years, now is the time to tackle this problem collectively.''