Originally Posted by
Often1
As to the assertion that the law is what the "commander" says it is, that is rubbish. It is a NZ aircraft departing the US. Both NZ and US laws as they relate to alcohol service will apply. NZ agreed to that in seeking landing rights in the US.
Utter rubbish. Given there's no such thing as "US law" anyway (as the United States Constitution does not imbue the Federal Government with the right to regulate liquor service) this is totally impossible. Unless you mean the law changes depending on which state you're currently flying over, which is just stupid - especially given on an international flight, it would be illegal if you were correct to serve alcohol to 19 year olds on NZ1 - yet weirdly, they serve alcohol to 19 year olds. And as to the regime for the registration state of the airline - also impossible. Air New Zealand holds no liquor licenses for any of its international jets (and yes, this means if you get an equipment swap on a domestic flight to an international jet, they cannot legally serve alcohol) and the Sale of Liquor Act says nothing about aircraft save that a person can buy duty free if they're about to get on one. Based on your assertion, on an NZ flight you would never be able to get alcohol, which is clearly not the case.
When in the air, the law that applies is that contained within the ICAO treaties. Liquor service is not among them, meaning the law is totally silent on the topic. In accordance with the Montreal Protocol 2014, however, it is unlawful to cause a disturbance on a plane and all ICAO member nations have ratified that. Australia took it one step further and just made it plain illegal to be intoxicated on an aircraft.