Kate Hawkesby: How long till airlines ban booze on flights?

The ultimate example of drunken mid-air antics is played out in the hilarious scene by actress Kristen Wiig in the movie Bridesmaids.

COMMENT: I wonder how long it'll be before they ban alcohol on planes?

You have a two-pronged problem here of course – on the one hand, intoxicated passengers losing the plot and driving everyone else on board nuts, as well as the airlines who must find this annoying, also unfortunately being driven by the bottom line therefore keen on the revenue generated from alcohol sales.

Liquor, beer and wine account for more than half of all in-flight sales. So that's a lot of money to turn down.

Not all airlines provide or sell alcohol of course, and for many passengers pre-loading is more of the problem - passengers tanking up at the airport before they even set foot onboard the plane.

But as we inch ever closer as a society towards less tolerance of bad behaviour, it begs the question: how much longer will drunken antics on board flights be tolerated?

The ultimate example of drunken mid-air antics is played out in the hilarious scene by actress Kristen Wiig in the movie Bridesmaids. Arguably one of the funniest plane scenes ever, it surely wouldn't have been if it was a real flight and you were a real passenger stuck on it.

According to one report, incidents involving unruly airline passengers are on the rise.

The International Air Transport Association says almost a third of these incidents are alcohol-related.

And the consequences have a domino effect on many people - from the airline staff, to fellow passengers, to flight crew, to airport officials on the ground at the other end.

The question's been asked: if airlines can ban smoking on board, why can't they ban drinking?

Will they perhaps look at limiting numbers of drinks?

But then how does that work if passengers have pre-loaded pre-flight?

And what about people who add pills to the mix and only need one vodka to make a dangerous cocktail of intoxication?

Inebriated passengers can be dangerous - not only to other passengers, but also to flight safety.

A classic example being the passenger who once drunkenly mistook the emergency exit for the toilet door.

Not all passengers drink to excess of course, and not all of them are out of control, but as incidents of poor plane behaviour continue to rise, and with alcohol a contributing factor, it makes you wonder how much longer the bar will be open mid-air.