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Published on: May 18, 2020
Airline passengers' alcohol use and its safety implications
Deborah C Girasek1, Cara H Olsen
1Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Preventive Medicine & Biometrics, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. DGirasek@usuhs.edu
Journal of Travel Medicine
|October 3, 2009
Summary
Most airline passengers do not plan to drink alcohol during flights. Factors like longer flights and premium seating increase the likelihood of in-flight alcohol consumption.
Area of Science:
- Aviation Psychology
- Public Health
- Substance Use Research
Background:
- Investigating factors influencing airline passenger alcohol consumption.
- Assessing the prevalence of potentially hazardous in-flight drinking behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify individual and contextual factors linked to airline passengers' alcohol consumption.
- To explore patterns of potentially dangerous in-flight alcohol use.
Main Methods:
- Anonymous questionnaire administered to 1,548 adult passengers across 24 domestic flights at a US international airport.
- High participation rate of 80% among approached passengers.
Main Results:
- 84% of passengers did not intend to consume alcohol on the flight.
- Intention to drink was associated with longer flights, traveling with friends, premium seating, prior alcohol consumption, frequent drinking, and positive perceptions of in-flight alcohol use.
- Of those intending to drink, 89% planned to consume only one to two drinks.
Conclusions:
- Few passengers reported intentions that posed a risk to others.
- Recommendations for future research include validating consumption data and expanding sampling to multiple airports year-round.
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