In a letter to airport managers, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has asked airports to curb the sales of alcohol in “to go” cups, stating that it emboldens passengers to consume alcohol onboard and contributes to the rise in poor behavior onboard. It also wants local police to file more criminal charges against passengers who misbehave onboard.
FAA Wants To Curb Alcohol In “To Go” Cups At Airports
The letter, signed by FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, links poor behavior onboard to the sale of alcohol in “to go” cups in airports:
“As the number of passengers traveling has increased, so has the number of unruly and unsafe behavior incidents on planes and in airports…
“Our investigations show that alcohol often contributes to this unsafe behavior. The FAA requests that airports work with their concessionaires to help avoid this. Even though FAA regulations specifically prohibit the consumption of alcohol aboard an aircraft that is not served by the airline, we have received reports that some airport concessionaires have offered alcohol ‘to go,’ and passengers believe they can carry that alcohol onto their flights or they become inebriated during the boarding process.”
While the letter stops short of banning the sales of alcohol in “to go” cups (especially in a COVID-19 world in which the use of such cups has proliferated), it does call for more signs and education:
“Airports can help bring awareness to this prohibition on passengers carrying open alcohol onboard their flights…through signage, public service announcements, and concessionaire education.”
FAA Calls For More Criminal Charges For Unruly Passengers
Furthermore, the FAA wants local law enforcement to step up prosecution for unruly passengers:
“While the FAA has levied cilvil fines against unruly passengers, it has no actual authority to prosecute criminal cases. Every week, we see situations in which law enforcement was asked to meet an aircraft at the gate following an unruly passenger incident. IN some cases, flight attendants have reported being physically assaulted. Nevertheless, many of these passengers were interviewed by local police and released without criminal. charges of any kind. When this occurs, we miss a key opportunity to hold unruly passengers accountable for their unacceptable and dangerous behavior.”
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson has reached out to airports for their help with unruly and dangerous passengers who drink excessively. We have zero tolerance for bad behavior on airplanes. #FlySmart pic.twitter.com/YMObQYla56
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) August 5, 2021
CONCLUSION
The FAA hopes that curbing the number of passengers bringing “to go” cups of alcohol onboard will lead to better behavior. It hopes to accomplish this through education rather than an outright ban. Furthermore, the FAA wants local law enforcement to be more aggressive in holding passengers accountable for bad behavior.
Will either policy help to stem poor behavior onboard?
I agree that there should be more criminal charges for unruly passengers. As for the to-go alcohol, am I the only person who’s never even considered it? Purely from a financial standpoint, compared to airport concessions, onboard prices 1) are cheaper, 2) include taxes, and 3) don’t require tips. Bonus if the airline CC offers a discount. Plus, you know *exactly* what you’re getting – 50ml for liquor, 187-200ml for wine, or ~350ml for beer.
How about deal with the problem passengers instead of punishing everyone for the actions of a few? Just another knee jerk action that will reduce jobs of lower paid workers.
No truer words from the sots among us…
If people act in a terrible fashion, why not put them on the No-Fly list rather than proffer criminal charges? Save the criminal charges to add to the No-Fly list for people trying to bring guns on planes.
I really enjoyed my to go cup beer at Newark. I was thinking why don’t more airports do this?
Has been available at ORD for years, well before pre-Covid. Tortas Frontera mezcal margarita to go for the win!
Of course progressive fake friend to the BIPOCs UA-TDS likes to appropriate Mexican culture by drinking to-go cocktails from a white appropriation of Mexican cuisine. Why does a white man from Oklahoma get to sell “Mexican” food at O’Hare? There is a YUGE Mexican community in Chicago/Cook County. White supremacy in action! Sad!
I don’t know that the FAA really has too much say in how state and local alcohol laws work. In many states, “to-go” is called “off-premises” sales and is defined by physically leaving the physical premises of the sale location. So in terms of a shopping mall, ordering a drink from a restaurant and walking around the mall drinking said alcohol IS NOT considered “off-premises” sales since you remained inside the mall. Same goes for an airport. Those laws are defined by the agency/locale who issues the alcohol sales permit. Not by the FAA.
During Covid, many states actually changed their laws to allow traditional “on-premises” sales locations (restaurants, bars, etc) to make “off-premises” sales along with to-go food orders, etc.
Now, as for carrying that alcohol onto an airplane and leaving the airport, that’s another issue. But do airlines really want flight attendants checking what people have in their cups as they board planes? Are they going to sniff people’s coffee to make sure there’s no extra ‘ nip’ in the cup too? I hardly think so.
More overreach by a federal agency who needs to stay in their lane.
What a great last name. Dickson….
To go cups are a thing at airports? Learned something new today.