All alcohol bought at airports to be sealed in plastic bags

All alcohol bought at airport shops could be placed in sealed bags in a crackdown on disruption by drunken passengers.

All alcohol bought at airport shops could be placed in sealed bags in a crackdown on disruption by drunken passengers. Picture: John Devlin

The measure may be used to enforce a possible ban on travellers drinking their own alcohol on flights, a Government document reveals.

Ministers are also considering introducing tougher penalties for drunkenness on aircraft and overhauling licensing laws for airside premises.

The government set out the proposals in a recent preliminary document as it develops its Aviation Strategy.

More than one in six people (18 per cent) who have flown in the past three years have witnessed aggressive or drunken behaviour on board, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

Some 420 disruptive passenger incidents were reported to the regulator in 2017.

The real extent of the problem could be more serious as many incidents are not recorded.

Last month an easyJet flight from Manchester to Paphos in Cyprus was diverted to offload four women after a group were drinking, swearing and threatening passengers.

In August a mid-air brawl involving men and women broke out on a Ryanair flight from Newcastle to Alicante.

The carrier claimed the incident demonstrated the need for a two-drink limit per passenger at airports.

Sealed bags are currently only used for airport alcohol purchases by passengers taking multiple flights to enable them to pass through additional security checks.