0:00
brits overwhelmingly back a two drink
0:02
limit at UK airports to stop drunken
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passengers disrupting flights supporting
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a policy change which has been
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championed by the Irish lowcost airline
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Ryionaire Why is this happening
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according to a survey of more than 2,500
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British residents by Yasper
0:17
Communications Agency around 60% either
0:20
agreed or strongly agreed with the idea
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and only 10.8% of Brits disagreed or
0:25
disagreed strongly with the introduction
0:26
of a limit The findings come amid
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mounting pressure from Ryan Air Europe's
0:31
largest airline for a change to the
0:33
rules following a string of incidents on
0:34
its flights Just two weeks ago one of
0:37
its flights to Roads was plunged into
0:39
chaos when a passenger had to be
0:40
strapped into his seat following the
0:42
confiscation of two bottles of booze
0:44
Rhino's chief executive Michael Liri
0:47
said last year he'd seen a spike in
0:49
violent disorder among passengers over
0:51
the summer with destinations like Iba
0:53
the worst impacted In fact industry data
0:56
actually shows incidents in the UK
0:58
tripled between 2019 and 2022 to over
1:01
1,000 per year alongside a worldwide
1:04
increase of more than half between 2021
1:06
and 2022 Flight diversions and other
1:09
emergencies can lead to higher costs for
1:11
airlines and at their most extreme
1:13
present a danger to life But selling
1:15
drinks at the departure gate and on
1:17
board is a big source of revenue for
1:19
airlines and firms like Weatherspoons
1:21
whose chief executive Tim Martin has
1:23
come out strongly against any suggestion
1:25
of a limit Ryan Air told us last week it
1:27
was not surprised that passengers in the
1:29
UK supported its calls which would help
1:31
reduce disruptive passenger behavior and
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ensure a more comfortable travel
1:34
experience for both passengers and crew
1:36
Julian Pierce managing director at
1:38
Yasper argues it's time for change He
1:41
wrote in an op-ed shared with cityam
1:43
saying that a drinking culture that may
1:45
have existed 10 or 20 years ago is now
1:48
not a reflection of modern society He
1:50
also said that recent figures have
1:52
estimated around 20% of British adults
1:55
don't drink alcohol at all Whether that
1:57
be for health lifestyle or religious
1:59
reasons This group of consumers deserves
2:01
attention He said Pierce also believes
2:03
that in such a safety critical industry
2:05
consideration of a more collegiate
2:07
approach to alcohol sales will need
2:09
support from industry government
2:11
airlines and airports He concludes in
2:13
his op-ed it cannot be right that
2:15
thousands of flights are disrupted
2:16
worldwide every year due to the poor
2:18
behavior of a minority Which is why it's
2:21
so important that sector leaders should
2:22
work together on enhanced safeguards
2:24
that will protect the traveling public
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yet not inhibit the huge majority of
2:28
law-abiding citizens Whatever side you
2:30
take a decision over the policy is made
2:32
more pressing given the surge in travel
2:34
demand across Europe through the
2:35
post-pandemic years and the government's
2:37
move to prioritize aviation in its bid
2:40
to turn around the UK economy Passenger
2:42
numbers are soaring Airports are
2:44
expanding But could that lead to more
2:46
drunken disruption down the line for
2:48
everything you need to know about the
2:50
survey head to cityam.com
