Drinking and flying just don't mix

If the airlines gave awards for the most obnoxious passenger, Jerome Kingzo, of the Northern Mariana Islands, would be in the running for this year's medal. On a Continental flight heading to Honolulu from Los Angeles, after a few too many drinks, Jerome needed to go to the lavatory. But before he exited his aisle, he decided to shower some praise on his seatmate. Well, it wasn't exactly praise that washed over her. The victim, a 66-year-old woman on her way to a scuba adventure, didn't expect to be soaked before she hit the water. I imagine her vacation took a dive after her in-flight experience.

Jerome isn't the first passenger to mark his territory on an aircraft. Several years ago, an investment banker traveling first class (and I use that term loosely) left his deposit on the in-aisle serving cart. He claimed he was suffering digestive problems. I'm sure passengers seated near him are still having digestive problems whenever they see an in-aisle cart.

And on a flight to London several years ago, my flying partner's uniform jacket was hanging in the economy-class closet. A passenger looking for the lavatory apparently mistook the coat closet for the water closet. Flight attendant Lisa ditched the jacket and flew out of uniform for the rest of the trip.

Some of the experts blame this irrational behavior on the crowded conditions and cattle-car mentality of the airlines. But most flight attendants blame this kind of conduct on too much alcohol.

And it's not just disgusting behavior. It's dangerous. Often times, the alcohol abuse causes physical abuse. Both passengers and flight crews have been injured during these incidents.

Back in the 1990s during a meal service on a flight heading to Minneapolis from England, a group of Brits started a full-blown food fight. Luckily, some of the members of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team were seated near them and pinned the rioters into their seats.

A couple of years ago, Ayisha Shimamoto of Tampa, Fla., tipped his elbow too much on a United Airlines flight headed for San Francisco. He turned out to be a mean drunk. After landing, he started knocking his wife around the airport. The men in blue arrested him. Late last year, he attempted to sue the airline for negligence. He claimed it was the carrier's fault for allowing him to drink too much and a settlement of $100,000 would settle the score.

Suing an airline or a passenger for an injury caused by too much alcohol isn't new. On a flight from Paris, a passenger became irate because my flying partner refused to serve him another drink. He broke a glass over her head and it took several stitches and a tidy sum of money from the passenger to mend her wounds. But the Shimamoto case might be the first time a drunken passenger has served papers to an airline for serving him.

The case was thrown out of court, but it does raise an important point. For years, the Association of Flight Attendants has lobbied for the elimination of alcohol on flights. At cruising altitude, one drink has the effect of three drinks on the ground. And with fewer airlines serving food, much of this drinking is done on an empty stomach. The resulting behavior often escalates into violence, which at times requires a pilot to intervene. Leaving an empty seat in the cockpit is never an ideal situation. A fistfight at 35,000 feet is a sobering thought. It's enough to drive a person to drink.

• Gail Todd, a freelance writer, worked as a flight attendant for more than 20 years. She can be reached at gailtodd@aol.com.