Originally Posted by purelywasted

As you get older, you can have problems that are not related to your alcohool consumption.



Probably the best guide. A few years ago at JFK, a major storm rolled in, we had rolling delays for our flight that lasted 5 hrs, we spent about 7 hrs in the BA F lounge, by the end, we were not fit to operate an office chair. As we boarded we were quiet and polite, but a bit stumbly, no issues.

Originally Posted by Transpacificflyer

I appreciate that no one wants to be seated next to an obnoxious drunk, but consider the issue from the perspective of the airline;
- If the airline is too forceful we get a series of public complaints discussing the butt hurt humiliation the poor pax experienced.
- Claiming someone is drunk requires proof. There has to be corroborating evidence, and visual observations do not necessarily do that. You are not the people paying the compensation when someone claims defamation.
- Some pax can be very, very petty and make false accusations. The poor FAs are not kindergarten cops.
- As pointed out earlier, some people can have medical conditions that cause vomiting or urinary incontinence. What happens if the FA accuses a passenger of being drunk because the person smells of booze and is stumbling? Well consider a person who has a nervous or muscular control condition who normally stumbles about and slurs words. The alcohol stench could have come from a spilled drink. It's happened before.