Whether it's an extravagant hen-do, a romantic getaway with a partner or a last-mintute city break with a best friend - it usually takes just one tour of duty-free for someone to suggest a 'cheeky' tipple to help bring on that 'holiday feeling'.
However, for some, the opportunity to start drinking ahead of a flight turns into a big old binge.
Who hasn't experienced a horrendous two-hour flight to Amsterdam with a group of lads on a stag do shouting obscenities across the cabin, insulting the crew and demanding more alcohol?
For this reason, budget airline Ryanair is now asking for all UK airports to introduce a two-drink limit and ban sales of alcohol in bars and restaurants before 10am.
And yes, at first this proposal might seem quite over-the-top, but a closer look into the effect of drunk passengers during a flight might make you think twice.
The airline recently took part in an investigation by the BBC's Panorama which showed there was a 50 per cent spike in arrests of drunken passengers in the year up to February 2017, when 387 people were arrested, compared with 255 in 2016, reported the BBC.
As per Ryanair policy, passengers are forbidden from drinking duty-free alcohol during its flights, while passengers flying from Glasgow Prestwick and Manchester to Alicante and Ibiza are all banned from bringing booze on board a flight, full stop.
Meanwhile, budget airline Jet2 has banned alcohol sales on flights before 08:00.
Kenny Jacobs from Ryanair said passengers' drunken behaviour 'is an issue which the airports must now address', and revealed the company particularly wants to see alcohol sales curbed during early morning flights and when flights are delayed.
More than half of the 4,000 respondents from the Unite union admit to witnessing disruptive drunken antics at UK airports, while a fifth said they'd been physically abused by an intoxicated passenger.
Ally Murphy, a former Virgin airlines cabin crew manager, told Panorama she believed passengers 'just see us as barmaids in the sky'. As a result, Murphy quit her job after 14 years of enduring abuse during her career.
'They would touch your breasts, or they'd touch your bum or your legs. I've had hands going up my skirt before,' she revealed.
Despite the proposal, the Airport Operators Association denied any suggestion the availability of alcohol at airports is reckless.
Karen Dee, its chief executive, said it was 'the misuse of it and drinking to excess and then behaving badly' that was the problem.
However, the Home Office has revealed it's considering the report's idea which includes revoking the airports' exemption from the Licensing Act and will respond to the proposals in due course.
Cheers to that.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
