skywardhunter

The joke is they probably had the equivalent alcohol as m3red's average PDB

eternaltransit

Serious reply re: intoxication on the ground at DXB - I think there's an element of knowing how draconian the laws are surrounding alcohol there and involvement of the police is well, going to cause a PR nightmare as well as ground staff feeling that someone being locked up for months in an Emirati prison just for drinking too much is a bit excessive.

Also, there's the issue of involving the police in the first place, with all the hassle that is.

Of course, airlines should just ban people and that is that.

WorldLux

I get the feeling, that the Dubai cops are already bending the rules already for Transit passengers. In the video with the "stag-party-in-Ayia-Napa" drunks, the voice-over says that the drunk and unruly passengers were interviewed and police decided not to press charges.

And I suspect it would only cause bad PR among drunks. I admire airlines that are tough on unruly passenger. Having some drunks spend time in a Dubai drunk tank and jail could act as a deterrent to other passengers. In the end, there's no country I'm aware of, where unruly/drunk passengers don't end their journey at a jail...

ukdoctor

I suspect that they are quite lenient airside in Dubai . I doubt if the same pax would have got away if they had drunk so much landside.

eternaltransit

It wouldn't be a drunk tank - the penalty for drinking in Dubai without a licence if non-Muslim is 1-6 months jail and a fine.

For Muslims the punishment can extend to lashing.

You can see why involvement of the police might be the last of last resorts in DXB - but certainly would support lifetime banning and cancellation of ticket by the airline.

WorldLux

A drunk tank at a police station is usually a prison cell. And I would imagine that even the Dubai police puts you in a cell/drunk tank before charging you once you're sober.

eternaltransit

I meant that, once police are involved, then it's essentially an automatic 1-6 month prison sentence. I thought by drunk tank you meant a cell for people to sober up in before they went on their way (with criminal charges), but in Dubai's case they would just be kept in the cell for months.

That is probably not going to do much for Dubai's reputation, at least the one they want to portray

nzkarit

If EK gave drunk paxs to the cops in Dubai, people would stop flying EK. EK has to balance the law, pax safety/well being and not giving themselves a black name.

By the sounds lounge and cabin crew need some better host responsibility and cutting supply off. Or always handing a glass of water with each alcoholic drink etc

ioto1902

Right.
And if we increase our fight against drugs, tens of thousands of traffickers will no more be able to feed their families.

rumbataz

Why would decent non-drunks stop flying EK if abusive drunkards were handed over to the police? LOL. The overwhelming majority of passengers and cabin crew would welcome EK removing abusive drunk passengers from their aircraft.

Let's not forget the EK cabin crew who have to put up with the entitled drunkards. I can't imagine a single EK crew member wanting to have to deal with a drunk passenger.

If you had to deal with drunks in your day job, I'd imagine some would change their tune quite rapidly.

nzkarit

What I meant was if EK starting handing drunks to the Dubai cops rather than what seems to be their softly softly approach. People might see EK and Dubai as the fun police and they will do their drinking on airlines other than EK which don't go through Dubai.

Just as many drunk and disorderly people on planes just going places that give you a slap with a wet bus ticket rather than locking you up.

skywardhunter

Because now there's a concern that if you drink on EK you end up in jail, even if you're not abusive, because people skew the truth. And suddenly people pay the $20 extra to fly QR for the safety of not being at risk of going to jail.

m3red

I've staggered through DXB multiple times.

The best was when a bottle of wine got smashed at the scanners. Brilliant scenes.

eternaltransit

If they really want to be seen as enforcing their laws:

- possession of alcohol without a licence, not just drinking it (no matter if "abusive" or not) is punishable by jail time, if Muslim (and remember, just being born in a Muslim country makes you Muslim as apostasy is illegal and unrecognised) then add 80 lashes.

- if you take prescription medicines, possession without permission is illegal and carries automatic jail time: traces in urine and blood count as possession.

Yes, the law may be inconsistent with what actually happens on board and in Duty Free etc. etc. - but that is the way of most of the world outside the bubbles of certain Western countries. (and we can see the culture shock that manifests on these boards every so often, with disbelief and angst that things aren't straightforward and clear!).

As long as you don't abuse things, you are generally left to your own devices.

The easiest and proportionate response is for EK to just blacklist and ban abusive travellers - and if in outstations, leave them to the local authorities there of their own nationality, if it escalates to that.

Throwing the book at those pax is just going to cripple the business model and, given Dubai's reliance on aviation, tourism and EK itself for employment opportunities and economic development, going on a crusade to enforce the letter of the law against boorish people isn't worth the risk to the livelihood of tens of thousands of people.

DYKWIA

I can't remember who told me the story (although I have my suspicions...), about somebody being completely plastered walking away from a bar in Dubai.

A police car pulled over, and the coppers went over to the guy and asked him if he was OK, and where he was heading. Now, this guy was a very polite drunk, so they just put him in the car and drove him home.

One less drunk on the streets, and no paperwork