My Seatmate on This Flight Is (Very) Drunk. What Should I Do?

25.07.2023 - 09:25 / afar.com

Unpacked is AFAR’s new advice column. Every month, our columnist Dr. Anu Taranath answers an ethical quandary that a reader recently faced. Taranath is a speaker, facilitator, and educator based in Seattle, Washington, who specializes in racial equity and social change. She’s the author of the book Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World (Between the Lines, 2019). If you have a question you’d like examined, please submit it to [email protected].

Dear Unpacked,

I’d love for you to settle a debate I had with my friends last week. On a recent flight, the woman next to me had, by my count, eight little bottles of vodka. She then loudly made fun of nearby passengers, pretended to talk on the phone, tried to snuggle with me, and spilled half a bottle of water on my pants. She didn’t get belligerent, but it was obviously an unpleasant flight—I was so thankful to have an extra pair of pants in my carry-on. And though the flight attendants seemed to be sympathetic, the flight was completely full, so I couldn’t go anywhere.

I think the flight attendants should have cut her off after the first signs of her being tipsy. My friends say that I wasn’t in harm’s way, that drinking on an airplane is one of the few luxuries left in air travel, and that ultimately, I have a funny travel story. What do you think? —P.G.

Dear P.G.,

Being airborne for hours next to someone inconsiderate must have been uncomfortable—particularly the unwanted physical touch and the spilled water. For the past few years, air travel has been more fraught for both passengers and flight attendants alike due to bad behavior, delays, and cancellations. Passengers expect a hassle-free experience, and flight attendants aim to ensure passengers’ safety and comfort. In your case, neither of these expectations could be fulfilled because the hassle turned out be the person seated next to you.

Though flight crews have more authority than passengers when it comes to quelling bad behavior, they too are limited in what they can do. Let’s say they had cut off the passenger’s alcohol supply earlier. Though that might have encouraged her to sober up, flight attendants say it usually does not go well. “Almost everyone argues and insists they are fine,” wrote veteran flight attendant Kristie Koerbel in the New York Times. “If things escalate, we inform them that their disruptive behavior could be in violation of federal law and that we could arrange law enforcement to meet them when we land.”

Flight crews have more authority than passengers but they too are limited in what they can do.

Photo by Michelle Heimerman

In your case, the passenger might have expressed her displeasure in more acute ways than spilling water on your pants. Some of us