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Home Office considers banning 24-hour boozing in British airports

Airports bars in Britain could be subject to a crack down on opening hours, following a 50% increase in drunken flyers last year.

The Home Office could look to impose normal UK licensing laws on airports within the next few weeks

It used to be a given that drinking at airports was legal at all times of the day, but that could be about to change.

The Home Office could look to impose normal UK licensing laws on airports within the next few weeks following the recommendations of a House of Lords report in December, the BBC reported on Saturday.

A Panorama investigation last year found there had been a 50% increase in the arrest of drunken flyers. 387 people were arrested for drunken behavior between February 2016 and February 2017, up from 255 the previous year.

Ryanair have already recommended a two-drink limit per boarding pass and banning the sale of alcohol before 10am in a bid to curb disruptive behaviour on flights.

Last year calls for change came alongside a number of cases of high profile air rage. In August a group of intoxicated Ibiza-bound Brits brawled with police after an emergency stop in Bordeaux. In October, British flier Bridget Hanley faced 20 days in a Canadian jail after drunkenly attacking another passenger.

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