TAMPA, Fla — If you tend to grab a drink before getting on a plane, you’re not alone.
One survey found eight out of 10 people consume alcohol while waiting at the airport. And that number jumps to nine out of 10 once their flight is in the air.
But now, the Federal Aviation Administration is asking airports to keep their bars and restaurants from selling those “to-go” alcoholic beverages, saying it promotes the unruly on-board behavior we’ve seen on flights lately.
The FAA turning to local airports for help, asking them to sell less booze —and make more arrests.
“We’ve seen incidents related to alcohol, violence toward flight attendants and abusive behavior in general,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said. The FAA recently sent a letter to airport administrators asking them to end sales of alcoholic beverages that passengers take with them to the gate.
“We have not stopped our program; we don’t have any plans to stop,” said Emily Nipps, a spokesperson at Tampa International Airport.
TPA says it hasn’t been a problem, so for now, the drinks will keep flowing. It’s also popular, they say, with people trying to social distance.
“They may not want to sit at the bar or sit in a crowded area to have their drinks,” Nipps said. “So, they like to take their drinks back to their gate or some other area where they’re not around so many people.”
Some passengers say eliminating the service would be unfair to the vast majority of passengers.
“You’re penalizing the people, the good people that are not unruly,” said Bertha Gonzalez.
Passenger Kendrick Moore said it might be an idea worth trying.
“It makes it harder for the flight attendants because then they have to deal with them,” he said.
The FAA is also asking airports to encourage their local police agencies to file charges more often when unruly passengers are removed from planes, not just interview and release them.
“Because you have acted badly there are immediate consequences for your actions. And that would be the best deterrent of all,” said 10 Tampa Bay aviation expert Mark Weinkrantz.
TPA says their police do make arrests. In fact, officials add more of them have occurred as passenger loads have rebounded.
“Typically, if somebody is intoxicated and committing a crime of some sort then we will arrest them,” Nipps said.
The issue, says the FAA, has only gotten worse in recent months. Fines have topped the $1 million mark. Nearly 4,000 violations have been issued just this year. Many of those have been on flights to and from Florida.
Recently, the FAA announced it was extending its mask mandate through Jan. 18.
“I mean, one bad apple can spoil the bunch. And people need to start acting right,” airport visitor Laurie Mahoney said.
“Then the word gets out that bad behavior is no longer tolerated,” Weinkrantz said. “And it will be a safer operation for the traveling public. That is the bottom line.”