Drinking on flights: 48% want ban, 40% favour breathalyzer tests

In the wake of two mid-air “peeing” incidents on Air India flights— both involving drunk men urinating on female co-passengers —it is not surprising that some Indians are now calling for a ban on serving liquor on international flights.

LocalCircles, a community social media platform, conducted a survey asking if governments should in fact ban serving of alcohol on international flights to and from India and if safeguards need to be put in place to ensure passengers do not get into these flights in an inebriated state. After receiving some 20,000 responses from over 274 districts of India, the survey revealed that 48% respondents wanted a ban on serving liquor onboard and 89% want new safeguards against risk of inebriated passengers. Of the 20,000 responses received, 59% of the respondents were men while 42% were women. Also, 48% respondents were from tier 1, 33% from tier 2 and 19% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.