Airlines have a responsibility to prevent drunk passengers flying but they do need a helping hand from airport bar staff, argues Herald columnist Alan Simpson.

I am not a great flyer, probably because I can’t flap my arms fast enough to get off the ground.

It actually followed a childhood incident when I tried to better Icarus only to discover that the sun was too far away.

Growing up in Aberdeen, the sun did not play a huge part in daily life and it was so far away that even the Hubble telescope couldn’t catch sight of it.

Planes are no better and I have always been nervous flyer with the slightest touch of turbulence enough to send me into a right tizzy.

I even get nervous before we’ve even taxied as there are quite a lot of things that can go wrong before you even reach the runway.

But one thing I never do before a flight is get drunk - filling a nervous flyer full of of drink before take-off is the last thing you should be doing.

I’ll maybe have one or two if it’s a civilised time of day to fly but no more than that and I certainly wouldn’t have one if the flight is at dark o’clock.

Even the thought of necking a pint at 5am is enough to make me shudder.

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However, plenty of people do and this has led to airline bosses calling for early morning drinking restrictions.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called for licensing hours to be restricted as part of measures to tackle disruptive behaviour on flights.

He said his airline was having to divert almost one aircraft a day because of bad behaviour by passengers.

Mr O’Leary said: “It’s becoming a real........

© Herald Scotland