Govt is powerless to ban alcohol on flights, says Liow

He says serving of alcoholic beverages is up to the airline as it is a business decision.

PETALING JAYA: The transport ministry has no power to prohibit the serving of liquor on Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flights.

Minister Liow Tiong Lai said it was up to the company as making alcoholic beverages available to passengers was a commercial practice.

“Of course, there is no restriction. This is a commercial decision and is not under the government. It is a business decision,” he told FMT today.

He added that the ministry did not have any regulations or guidelines on the issue of alcohol during flights.
PAS Youth recently made the call for alcohol to be banned on MAS flights following a recent court case in the UK of a drunk passenger who turned abusive on a Kuala Lumpur-London flight and had to be tied up. She will be sentenced at a later date.

Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin had also touched on the matter following the disappearance of MH370 and the crash of MH17, which was hit by a missile, in 2014.

“I had proposed this (ban on liquor) after the MH370 incident.

“I again proposed it to the government after MH17.

“Stop serving alcohol on MAS flights for the sake of God,” he said in a Facebook posting in 2014. -FMT