“The airport is a very stressful place,” Tampa Airport Police Chief Charlie Vasquez says. “People have time to kill, might throw in maybe some alcohol. And, it tends to sometimes get explosive.”
Many videos show passengers creating chaos on airplanes. Authorities say many passengers are intoxicated before they board. Questions have been raised about whether airport bars are overserving their customers.
One video shows an intoxicated man allegedly hassling patrons at a restaurant bar before his flight. He was later put in handcuffs.
Authorities say another man was so out of control that he got kicked off the plane before take-off and taken out of the jetway at Tampa International Airport.
“The airport is a very stressful place,” Tampa Airport Police Chief Charlie Vasquez says. “People have time to kill, might throw in maybe some alcohol. And, it tends to sometimes get explosive.”
Vasquez says some incidents with drunk people at airports can get unruly.
One drunk passenger lashed out at an officer after police tried to locate his lost bag. His charges are pending while he is currently in an intervention program.
Airport police say in another incident, a woman was so drunk she had to be rolled out of the terminal in a wheelchair.
In 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration investigated more than 1,500 unruly passenger incidents nationwide.
Three years ago, the FAA asked airport concessions to stop offering to-go cups to bar patrons to help minimize incidents of overly drunk passengers.
So are some airport bars overserving passengers?
At Newark Airport in New Jersey, two Inside Edition producers ordered alcoholic drinks at a restaurant to see how many they could be served.
Producers were served two negronis, a shot of bourbon, two double bourbons, a double vodka, and a beer, equaling 10 drinks in two hours.
When the staff was not looking, producers poured out the drinks.
“Don’t over drink and you’ll probably get on your way and get to your destination,” Vasquez says.
In a statement to Inside Edition Tampa International Airport says, "Tampa International Airport’s servers and bartenders are required to undergo ServSafe training to ensure responsible serving of alcohol to customers, and that includes identifying signs of intoxication. In addition, our Risk Management team reviews all cases involving arrests for disorderly behavior/intoxication to investigate whether or not the customer was overserved at TPA, and if so, whether additional training is needed. It’s worth noting that some intoxicated passengers arrive to the Airport already intoxicated and don’t always make stops at our bars and restaurants."
