ioto1902

We've heard enough of air rage to understand that being drunk is not the issue. Public disorder is, whether, alcohol being the cause, seat reclining or even Trump .
Recently, there were several cases of drunken Brits being removed from flight. Did all those airlines go bankrupt ?
Would you rather keep one drunken guy in your customer list and lose tens of pax bothered by the airline's soft policy ?
Public disorder, particularly due to alcohol or drugs, must be addressed severely, whether in Islamic country or not.

eternaltransit

I think the main difference is that the UAE struggles with the reputation of being intolerant and "overly" harsh with respect to what would seem minor offences (if offences) at all in other countries - which happen to be source markets for EK.

Dubai has attempted, quite successfully I think, to be seen as the enclave of tolerance in the region - the exception - and EK's reputation and Dubai's reputation are intertwined.

If the media pick up stories - which feed into the West's current perceptions of the Arab world! - about people being arrested because they had a drink in the outstation, or half a gin and tonic and dumped into a black hole of an Emirati jail for months, I think you'd see quite a noticeable effect on EK loads and Dubai tourism, especially as the UK is their biggest source market and the UK has a drinking culture (and Dubai is seen as a party destination).

I don't think anyone is saying that abusive drunks on planes should be let off - only that it should be reasonably proportionate. If you enforced the letter of the law, anyone drinking anything alcoholic should be put in jail for 6 months and/or whipped. That to me is not proportionate, and the PR nightmare would sabotage the airline and tourist industry, given the pax profile on EK and visitors to Dubai like to drink alcohol.

Saltire74

I've said it a few times in my travelling life after flying multiple airlines, travelling to many countries and passing through hundreds of airports. There are individuals on this earth that should not be allowed a passport. It only takes one to spoil it for the rest of us.

S

ProleOnParole

Just a ^ for eternaltransit: I really enjoy reading your posts, always very focused and thoughtful, in this and other threads. Keep it up! Thanks.

tezzer

I had a similar journey a few years ago on DXB MAN albeit in J, rather than F.

Middle aged couple hurling abuse, both verbal and physical at each other throughout the flight. I went and had a quiet word with the purser, suggesting that perhaps they had both had enough juice. The crew continued to serve them, watching the fights discreetly from behind the curtain.

It got to the point that the man went forward to the rest room, and the lady took the opportunity to go and find a seat in economy to get some peace. He went crazy, literally dragging her back to her seat in J by the hair. Again the crew did nothing.

He was first off, and ran away down the concourse at Manchester for some peculiar reason.

A shocking and disturbing experience.

eternaltransit

Thanks! ^

Oldtiger

A drunk man who had to be tied to a chair on board a flight has been jailed for seven months after threatening to rape another passenger.

The air rage incident happened on board a seven-hour flight from Dubai to Birmingham in November 2016.

Prosecutor Philip Brunt told the court the cabin crew suspected Mir was drunk, as he was last to board the flight and had his own alcohol with him.

Mir, of Havelock Road, Saltley, Birmingham, became abusive 30 minutes into the flight and was given a warning by flight staff, the court heard.
He was then issued with a second warning but responded by swearing and throwing a drink across the cabin.

The court heard how the married father threatened to rape a female passenger before having his hands and feet bound with plastic cuffs, as some passengers, including children, were reduced to tears.

Mir, who has over 50 previous convictions, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to being drunk on an aircraft and failing to obey the lawful command of the jet's pilot.

Passing sentence, Judge Avik Mukherjee told Mir: "The mechanisms used to curb your behavior ran the whole gamut, from being warned, being formally warned, being cuffed, being strapped, to then a mask being placed over your face.

"Being drunk on a plane requires severe punishment - others who wish to behave in this way must be deterred."

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-39308071

Coffee drinker

Really? Good, whatever it takes.

Hopefully I will never experience someone like that on my flights.

rumbataz

Excellent news. I hope a few other drunk passengers are made an example of and banned for life by airlines so that the majority of passengers on board can have a more relaxing and stress-free flight.

The cabin crew suspected he was drunk as he boarded. He should have been kicked off the flight at that point.

ft101

I hope any disruptive or abusive passengers are treated like that. As has been pointed out before, it's not being drunk that's the problem.

DYKWIA

Give it a rest. I'm often drunk when I get on a plane - but I don't go around abusing people or making a show of myself.

m3red

Me too. Don't think I've been sober at an airport or on a plane for a while and I don't get abusive either.

skywardhunter

Indeed. Woke up after take-off yesterday and realised I was decently sloshed. Read my book and sobered up by landing.

LondonElite

The cabin crew was clearly incompetent and should be sacked if they couldn't identify the problem on the ground. Please stop banging this drum.

extramileage

Can we talk about the "mask"???? Is that next to the on-board cutlery?