I give him an A for effort.
But an E for execution. Hey, at
least he’s trying.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary—a flamboyant
character as it is—thinks he has a solution for the unruliness that pervades
airplanes.
Less alcohol in the airport before even
getting on the plane.
“We need to have a ban on airports—not
[on] selling alcohol, but limiting the amount of alcohol that can be sold to
any passenger to two alcoholic drinks,” O’Leary told The Independent.
I like his thinking; I just don’t think it’s
realistic. His plan is for people to show their boarding pass at an airport bar
or restaurant. And, presumably, get it ticketed or punched or put a sticker on
to indicate how many drinks they have had. And if you don’t have a boarding
pass, then you are out of luck. It’s like a driver’s license.
“And you shouldn’t be served more than two
alcoholic drinks, particularly when flights are delayed,” he said.
COVID Set the Bar
There’s no question that alcohol is among
the root causes of unruly behavior on airplanes. The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) reported more than 2,000 cases and $7.5 million in fines just last
year alone. And that was without the wearing of masks during COVID.
But it’s unrealistic. At least, as presented.
Speaking as a former teenager who might
have fractured a law or two, I can see the holes in the plan. For one, it seems
unconstitutional. If you are of legal drinking age but only providing a ride
to the airport for a friend or family member, why should you be penalized?
Then
again, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for turning someone loose on the roads
while driving because he or she had too much to drink at the airport.
But one thing we can all agree upon is
that we have to do a better job of protecting our flight attendants and
airline workers. Crew members went through the hell of being verbally abused
and sometimes physically assaulted during COVID. And it’s not just on the
airplane. The brazen behavior has extended to gate agents and other airport
personnel.
O’Leary has a good idea; it just has to be
refined. The threat of incarceration or monetary fines doesn’t seem to be
working. But the
situation clearly needs to be addressed. Because it’s getting out of hand.
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