Airline rules
The Economist
Health and safe tea....
TAKING a very early flight to Dublin yesterday morning, your correspondent naturally availed himself of a latte from Caffè Nero. But as I went to board, the man at the gate said, "You can't bring that on the plane. Health and safety."
In reply to my inquiry about the issues involved in bringing on board a drink in a sealed cup, he said, "We've had two incidences of passengers burning themselves."
Imagine my surprise, then, to be offered on board a hot cup of tea (in another sealed cup). What about the health and safety issues of that? I might spill the liquid on the man next to me, or in front of me.
My suspicions were aroused when I found the cost of said tea was €2.60 ($3.41). So might Aer Lingus be motivated by the desire to increase revenues, rather than protect passengers? After all, on regular flights, people drink coffee and tea out of unsealed cups with apparent abandon.
I rang Aer Lingus to ask their press office, but after 10 minutes, nobody had picked up the phone. Probably on a tea break.
