The two words you should never say to cabin crew, according to a travel expert
OK, there are more than two words you should never say to a flight attendant – any mention of bombs, terrorists, guns, knives or wanting to open the door mid-flight will get you into big trouble.
But there’s also a more harmless phrase that you probably use in everyday life, that can attract unwanted attention.
According to Willis Orlando, senior product operations specialist at the insider-intel platform Scott’s Cheap Flights, you really don’t want to tell cabin crew, “I’m drunk.”
He told Yahoo: “Certainly a lot of us get very convivial with flight attendants and we want to pal around with them and make these kinds of jokes and we feel light-hearted—and maybe we make a joke about being intoxicated.”
But according to Orlando, flight attendants have the right to kick you off a plane if you’re drunk.
By telling them you aren’t sober, “they have to make a decision whether you’re safe to stay on board.
“There are also things that they can do to penalise you,” he added. “They could put you on a list of problem passengers—and this could all be misunderstanding if you make a simple joke.”
Most read in News Travel
Airlines are cracking down on boozy travellers – here is everything you need to know about the rules of alcohol on flights.
How much alcohol can you take on a plane?
Passengers can take up to 5l of alcohol with them which was purchased at Duty-Free, which is between 24 per cent and 70 per cent alcohol volume.
Alcohol under 24 per cent isn’t limited, while any booze over 70 per cent is completely banned.
Is it illegal to be drunk on a flight?
It is a criminal offence to be drunk on an aircraft.
It’s also prohibited to drink any of your own alcohol – including any Duty Free bottles – that you’ve brought onto the flight.
Cabin crew have the right to refuse to serve any passenger at their discretion.
But if things get out of hand, offenders can receive a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment according to the Civil Aviation Authority, or fines up to £80,000.
Airlines can also refuse to allow passengers on board if they believe they pose a risk to the plane, with that including being drunk.
Some airlines have even stopped selling booze on their flights, which includes Southwest Airline and American Airlines.
Ryanair has warned passengers travelling on flights to Spain that they cannot take any booze into the cabin with them, and that bags will be searched.
Do people get more drunk while in the air?
Dr Clare Morrison, from online doctor MedExpress, said people can be more affected by alcohol while flying than they would when on land.
She told HuffPost UK: “When on a plane, the barometric pressure in the cabin of a plane is lower than it normally is.
“This decreased pressure means that the body finds it harder to absorb oxygen – this can produce light-headedness or hypoxia.
“In other words, the lower level of oxygen in your blood means that you may seem more drunk in the air than you would on the ground after consuming the same amount of alcohol.
“As well as this, you could become dehydrated very quickly as the air in an aircraft is very dry, so you may become dehydrated faster than you would on the ground.”