The Malaysian Insight

PAS Youth has urged Malaysia Airlines to stop serving alcohol to passengers to prevent a recurrence of the drama aboard flight MH128 yesterday.

Its deputy chief Ahmad Fadli Shaari said the incident was caused by a drunken passenger who had claimed that he possessed an explosive device, which turned out to be a powerbank.

Yesterday, Kuala Lumpur-bound flight MH128 had to turn back to Melbourne after just 20 minutes in the air after a passenger tried to barge into the cockpit.

The 25-year-old Australian from the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong was stopped by a group of passengers and the cabin crew.

AFP today quoted Australian police as saying the man had a history of mental illness but made no mention of the possibel intoxication of the man.

However, an earlier report did quote Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi as saying that the man appeared to be drunk.

“PAS Youth wants the government to make instant policy changes in Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB)  to stop serving alcoholic beverages to passengers as it could threaten the flight’s safety,” Fadli said today.

“The government should follow the example of Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain and others, that have strict rules on this issue.”

He said even Brunei had banned alcohol in the Royal Brunei Airlines.

Fadli said MAS’ decision to stop serving alcoholic beverages on flights less than three hours long had been praised by the public. 

He said last night was not the first incident that involved intoxicated passengers. 

“An incident involving a drunken passenger’s attempt to break into the cockpit had happened in April 2014, when Australian Matt Lockley was reported to have caused disturbances on flight VA41 from Brisbane to Bali,” he said. – June 1, 2017.