Star comment: Passenger safety must come first

Far too frequently we are seeing incidents where poor behaviour leads to arrests, whether it be at airports or aboard planes.

Figures showing that more than 300 drunk, disorderly and violent people were arrested at Birmingham Airport over the last three years go some way towards highlighting the scale of the problem.

However, it is questionable whether the flight companies, particularly those that specialise in cheap flights, are doing everything they can to minimise such incidents.

Clearly, one of the aims of running so many flights to party destinations is to sell as much booze as possible to passengers in order to maximise profits.

On many flights prices are inflated and passengers are encouraged to drink as much alcohol as they can.

But this comes at a cost.

On one hand, other passengers have to suffer from the reckless and offensive behaviour of drunks.

But we also have to take into account the cost of dealing with such incidents, which often end with the involvement of police and security staff.

It is little wonder that in recent years the calls to ban the sale of alcohol on flights have grown louder.

However, it could be argued that such a move would unfairly punish those passengers who simply want to enjoy a drink to kick start their holiday.

There is no doubt that passengers have a responsibility to behave themselves at airports and on planes.

Those who step out of line should be dealt with by the law. Prison sentences must be handed out in cases involving violence.

But the flight companies have a duty to ensure that all possible steps are taken to prevent alcohol-related trouble.

There must be a crackdown on allowing drunk people to board flights. Passenger welfare must be put before making money.

If people knew they could be prevented from boarding a flight if they were deemed to be drunk, they would be less likely to drink to excess in the first place.

Flight companies must remember that passenger safety must always be paramount.