A German court has ruled that an airline can refuse admittance to drunk passengers. A German man sued an airline after he and his wife were refused entry on a flight for being too drunk.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. D. Gabbert
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A German court has ruled that an airline does not have to allow drunk passengers onto its flights.
A man from the German state of Lower Saxony had sued a Munich travel agency because an airline refused to allow him and his wife to board a flight from Australia to Dubai, the first leg of the couple's journey back home to Germany.
The couple had to book a new flight for the following day at a cost of around €1,750 ($1,950). The man was in court in an attempt to win this money back plus an additional €600 that he claimed he had lost in revenue owing to his career as a lawyer.
The Munich district court said its ruling, which was announced on Friday, was in part based on the testimony of a flight attendant who said the couple could not walk straight and demanded a glass of champagne before even taking their seats.
The couple reportedly both smelled strongly of alcohol and were unable to stand up straight or concentrate. The female passenger started crying, saying she felt unwell.
It was the captain who ultimately decided to expel the couple from the plane and not allow them to fly from Brisbane to Dubai.
The court ruled that this evidence was "sufficient" that the passengers were too incapacitated to fly due to their use of alcohol.
The airline is therefore not required to pay any money to the plaintiff.
As summer comes around, holidaymakers pack their suitcases and jet off abroad — often in search of warmer temperatures. But those flights heat the planet. What are the costs of flying?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
Dream destination, but climate nightmare
A return flight from Germany to the Maldives (8,000 km each way; about 5,000 miles) has an effect on the climate equivalent to releasing more than five tons of carbon dioxide per person, Germany's Environment Agency (UBA) says. A mid-range car would release the same amount after driving 25,000 km.
Image: Imago/Zumapress/A. Nekrasov
More than just CO2
Flying at high altitudes releases more than just carbon dioxide. Condensation trails turn into thin and wispy 'cirrostratus' clouds, which, depending on the position of the sun and the earth's surface, can cool or warm the ground beneath it. Nitrogen oxides released from planes into sunlight also contribute to the greenhouse gas ozone, which warms the planet.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/H. Tittel
Eat sausages or fly?
Our daily lives warm the planet. Heating, electricity, clothing and food all form part of our carbon footprints. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, UBA recommends each German emits about a ton of carbon dioxide in total — regardless if through flying or eating sausages.
Image: picture-alliance/CTK
Flying low
Air traffic doesn't just hurt the global climate — it also has local effects. The sound of aircrafts flying low overhead makes people more at risk of heart attacks, for example. Children who live near airports struggle to concentrate. And local air quality suffers from pollutants such as nitrogen oxides.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Ossinger
Untaxed fuel
Flying is subsidized more than other modes of transport. Aviation kerosene, which is used as jet fuel, is not taxed in the EU. In Germany, cross-border flights are exempt from value-added tax. Through that, the government waived more than €4.7 billion of tax revenue in 2012, according to the latest data by UBA.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Forra
Government and staff costs
The costs of air travel are often subsidized on the ground. Taxpayers' money is often spent on building new airports, a form of indirect subsidy. And budget airlines such as Ryanair have come under fire for saving money through imposing poor working conditions on their staff.
Image: imago/imagebroker/C. Vandercam
Flying as a new form of imperialism?
Only about 20% of the world population has ever flown. According to climate justice movement Stay Grounded, a minority of highly mobile people who are rich and educated cause 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by flying.
