The airport bar is a special place. It’s calm in the midst of an otherwise pretty chaotic environment. It’s more pervasive to drink alone than with others. And it’s probably one of the only places where it’s socially acceptable to have whiskey at 6 o’clock in the morning.
However, a flight attendant issued a warning to those who like to knock down a beer or three before their flights. Her video comes after another flight attendant went viral for sharing that one of the real reasons they greet passengers upon boarding a plane is “to check whether you are too drunk or sick to fly.”
Flight attendant @traveling.mermaidd’s video backs this up. In hers, she begs those who are drunk or tipsy to “please [not] make it noticeable when you get on the plane.”
She says flight attendants are “legally required to kick you off the airplane if you appear to be intoxicated.”
“I don’t wanna have to kick you off, you don’t wanna be embarrassed. You don’t wanna miss your flight,” she explains. “It’s a win-win for both of us.”
Her video has been viewed 8,500 times.
@traveling.mermaidd just me and everyone going to vegas right now having a chat… #airportdrinks #drinking #airport #aviation #faa #drunk #flightattendant #cabincrew ♬ original sound – traveling.mermaidd
Viewers cracked jokes in the comments section.
“Game face game face,” one said.
“Imagine how drunk you have to be that they’re like ‘you’re too drunk to sit in a seat,’” another wrote.
Others shared the reasons they are not an airport drinker.
“I stopped drinking at the airport, and on airplanes. It is so nice to arrive sober,” one user shared.
“I’m an airport drinker when the company is paying for it otherwise it’s too expensive. I’m a good sober actress though,” a second commented.
“I have to pee too much when i drink. Drinking and flying is not compatible with me unless i want a seat right next to the toilet lol,” a third stated.
The FAA’s rules regarding intoxicated passengers
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations prohibit intoxicated passengers from boarding. Passengers can’t drink alcohol on board unless a flight attendant serves it to them. However, that doesn’t stop passengers from using hacks to sneak alcohol on board. “I will pretend I am not drunk if you don’t look in my coffee cup!” one viewer promised @traveling.mermaidd.
“I literally bring my to go cup filled with wine from the lounge on board lol,” another said.
Furthermore, flight attendants are not allowed to serve passengers who show signs of intoxication, per the Department of Transportation’s website.
Are you really more drunk on a plane than you are on the ground?
Rumor has it, people get more drunk in the air. While that’s not necessarily true, what is true is that people can feel more drunk in the air. According to Conde Nast Traveler, “alcohol can disrupt the absorption of oxygen in the bloodstream.” That coupled with the fact you are at a higher altitude when flying may make you feel “dizzy, light headed, or even nauseous,” aka feel more drunk.
The Daily Dot reached out to @traveling.mermaidd.
Update 1:54pm CT, June 6: When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the FAA told the Daily Dot in a statement: “FAA has a zero-tolerance policy toward unruly passengers. Federal law prohibits passengers from consuming alcohol aboard a plane that isn’t served by a flight attendant.
Federal regulations state ‘no person may assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember in the performance of the crewmember’s duties aboard an aircraft being operated.’ Failing to obey a flight attendant’s safety instructions constitutes interfering with a crewmember.
Please see our latest press release about referring the most serious unruly passenger cases to the FBI.
We’re also aggressively getting the word out about what can happen to people who engage in this dangerous behavior. Here’s a link to memes we developed. Visit this link to view other PSAs and digital airport signage we produced about this issue.
The data on our unruly passenger website shows the trend in the rate of incidents.”
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