Russian Flagship Airline Aeroflot Lifts 9-Year Alcohol Ban

Russian Skyteam alliance airline, Aeroflot, recently announced that it will begin to sell alcohol on board again on specific routes following a nine-year ban on the sale of alcohol.

As of last Friday, alcoholic beverages have been placed on economy menus, according to TASS. Beer will be served on six-hour flights and wine will be served on select three-hour flights.

The ban was most directly in response to incidents involving intoxicated passengers and pilots on the airline. In January of 2008, a drunken passenger attempted to hijack a plane. Reports from The Telegraph and eTravel News say that the passenger started a fight and announced his control of the plane, which ultimately resulted in flight attendants tying and locking him up in the lavatory to maintain the safety of the flight.

Later that year, in September of 2008, an incident occurred in which an intoxicated pilot crashed the plane, killing 88 passengers. Just a few months later, in December, more than 100 passengers refused to fly because they believed their pilot was intoxicated. While that pilot didn't end up flying the plane, no alcohol was found in his system upon further investigation according to an airline spokeswoman.

Aeroflot's ban was on the sale of alcohol in economy class on flights to and from Havana, Moscow, Bangkok and Shanghai, and it was enacted in 2010. The routes were allegedly chosen due to poor behavior involving alcohol coming from and going to those destinations.

Several key players in the airline industry have also expressed an interest in limiting passengers' consumption of alcohol recently. For Aeroflot, the airline said that it noticed improvements following the 2010 ban, stating that there were fewer "cases of passenger misconduct on board attributed to alcohol intake." However, the airline is now re-conforming to selling alcohol on board, this time, hopefully with a more successful outcome.

H/T: Business Insider