• January 25, 2023

Air India modifies in-flight alcohol service policy: ‘Don’t Give ‘One Last Drink’: Here are the new rules

Air India modifies in-flight alcohol service policy: ‘Don’t Give ‘One Last Drink’: Here are the new rules

NEW DELHI Jan 25: Amid recent incidents of unruly passenger behaviour, Air India has modified its in-flight alcohol service policy wherein cabin crew have been told to tactfully refuse further serving of alcohol if needed.

The Tata group-owned airline has been slapped with penalties in the last few days by DGCA for the unruly behaviour of passengers onboard two international flights for reporting lapses.

The exact changes in the revised policy could not be immediately ascertained.

According to the revised policy, guests should not be permitted to drink alcohol unless served by the cabin crew and that the cabin crew be attentive to identifying guests that might be consuming their own alcohol.

“Service of alcoholic beverages must be carried out in a reasonable and safe manner. This includes tactfully refusing to (further) serve a guest alcohol,” as per the policy.

In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has reviewed its existing in-flight alcohol service policy, taking reference from other carriers’ practice and input from the US National Restaurants Association’s guidelines.

“These were largely in line with Air India’s existing practice, though some adjustments have been made for better clarity, and NRA’s Traffic Light system included to help crew recognise and manage possible cases of intoxication.

“The new policy has now been promulgated to crew and included in training curriculam. Air India remains committed to the safety and well-being of our passengers and cabin crew, including but not limited to the responsible service of alcohol,” the spokesperson said.

Here are the rules

According to the revised policy sent out last week, amid furore over a drunk man allegedly urinating on a co-passenger on a New York-Delhi flight two months ago, passengers should not be allowed to drink unless served by the cabin crew who should be attentive in identifying guests who might be consuming their own alcohol.

“Air India empowers its cabin crew to deny boarding, refuse service of liquor or remove any unconsumed alcohol where a guest is consuming their own and where there are reasonable grounds to believe that guests faculties are impaired by alcohol to an extent that will present a hazard to the aircraft, to persons on board (crew or guests) or the guest themselves,” the policy said.

“Cabin crew are responsible for monitoring guests for signs of undue intoxication and should observe the patron’s speech, coordination, balance and behaviour. Observations of the guest’s behaviour can then be classified as green, yellow or red,” it said, adopting a “traffic light system”.

Cabin crew have been asked to be polite and avoid “value judgements” and use tact to cut off passengers from liquor. They must also distinguish behaviour that may simply be a person’s personality trait such as talking or laughing louder from behaviour, the memo said.

“Don’t call the guest a ‘drunk’ – warn them politely that their behaviour is unacceptable.. and don’t be persuaded to give them ‘one last drink’ after it is stated that they have had enough,” the airline has told its crew.

“Don’t raise your voice. If they raise theirs, lower yours… don’t put off refusal, act while the guest can still be reasoned with,” it said, adding rude passengers are best handled using conflict management techniques to defuse and avoid escalations.

“Managing unduly intoxicated patrons must be done assertively and respectfully,” the airline said. The cabin crew should not think “a matter is over because you have verbally addressed it”.

In a statement, Air India, said, “We have reviewed our existing in-flight alcohol service policy taking reference from other carriers’ practice and input from the US National Restaurants Association’s (NRA) guidelines.”
“These were largely in line with Air India’s existing practice, though some adjustments have been made for better clarity, and NRA’s Traffic Light system included to help crew recognise and manage possible cases of intoxication,” it added.

The Tata group-owned airline has been hit with multiple penalties in the last few days by India’s aviation regulator in connection with the unruly behaviour of passengers onboard two international flights and lapses in how the airline handled the incidents.