My wife and I recently went to Malta for a week, the first time we had been to the island. I shall be blogging about it as a destination sometime in the near future, but this is about the getting there. Indeed, the photo on the home page is of our plane’s descent into the airport at Malta.

The flight had left Gatwick at 8.25, which takes me on to the theme of this piece – the relationship between alcohol and airlines. An energetic ‘discussion’ was recently kicked off by Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair. He complained that bad onboard behaviour by some passengers latterly has meant his company had to divert a flight a day. He said it used to be a flight a week. That is, his belief is that the situation is getting worse. He suggested the chief culprit behind this was early-morning boozing at airports, and he wants it stopped. Or at least he wants airports to have licensing hours, as pubs do, and a limit on how many drinks each prospective passenger may be served.

I know one of the reasons people reportedly drink, maybe to excess, before flying is because the whole experience makes them nervous. In fact, I suspect that if something untoward did occur on the flight, the fact that you were sloshed would not be helpful. Anyhow, on the other side of the argument, to no shock, is Sir Tim Martin, founder of Wetherspoons, whose business turns a handsome trade from its operations at UK airports. He said the implementation of any such rules would be like something out of ‘Big Brother’ and in any case it would not solve anything. Obviously both men have a dog in this fight but who is in the right?

I stuck to orange juice and coffee before our flight, but even at that comparatively early hour there was no shortage of people popping the prosecco and being poured a pint. I wholly see O’Leary’s point but as Martin Samuel pointed out in The Times, “why then does he not prohibit the sale of alcohol on his flights…or is it only the booze O’Leary does not make a profit from that he finds so objectionable”? Rather splendidly, I thought, the column ran under the headline ‘Mine’s a double standard’.

Returning home (in the early afternoon, I should make clear), I did enjoy one glass of rosé at a very nice outdoor bar at Malta Airport. The facility was primarily designed for use by club-class passengers. But not entirely. On the door was a sign that read ‘One-Time Lounge Access Exclusively Available at €45.’ I am not sure that ‘exclusive’ is the appropriate word for something which only sets you back 45 euros but, hey, I can drink to that. In moderation of course.