For many people, alcohol is an aspect of traveling by air that they enjoy. I’m not just talking about first or business class travel, where a glass of champagne might be part of the fun. Airports are also one of the few places where you can have a drink at 5AM and not be judged (too hard).
Admittedly customs differ around the globe, based on culture, religion, etc. In this post I thought it would be interesting to talk a bit about dry airlines, as there’s a bit of nuance to this.
Which airlines don’t serve alcohol onboard? Which airlines don’t serve alcohol but let you bring your own alcohol? And does all of this even matter?
In this post:
Which airlines don’t serve alcohol?
Let’s start by taking a look at the airlines that are dry, meaning that they don’t serve you alcohol. Here are the airlines that come to mind:
- Air Arabia
- Biman Bangladesh
- EgyptAir
- Iran Air
- Iraqi Airways
- Jazeera Airways
- Kuwait Airways
- Mahan Air
- Pakistan International Airlines
- Royal Brunei Airlines
- Saudia
- Turkmenistan Airlines
Admittedly that list isn’t totally exhaustive, since there are a countless number of small airlines out there. However, I think this covers the biggest and most interesting airlines that don’t serve alcohol (though if I missed any major ones, please let me know).
Which dry airlines will let you bring your own alcohol?
There’s an interesting twist to this. While some airlines are dry, they’ll let you bring your own alcohol onboard, and then you can consume it (within reason). The following three international carriers come to mind:
- EgyptAir
- Kuwait Airways
- Royal Brunei Airlines
Now, it’s important to note that this isn’t without strings attached:
- It’s at the crew’s discretion whether you can consume alcohol or not; if you plan to consume alcohol, definitely ask the crew for permission first, or else there could be consequences
- Often there are restrictions around the situations in which you can bring alcohol; for example, on Royal Brunei you can only consume alcohol on flights to Brunei, since alcohol is banned in the country (so it would need to be dumped before landing), while on EgyptAir you could even buy it in duty free in Cairo, and then consume it onboard
When I flew Kuwait Airways several years back, I wrote about how we brought a bottle of wine onboard, and they gladly let us consume it. It’s not that I couldn’t be without alcohol, but I was curious to experience a BYOB concept on a plane.
Which airlines are dry on certain routes?
There’s an added layer of complexity to all of this, as there are some airlines that aren’t generally dry, but are dry on certain routes. Several situations come to mind (let me know if I’m missing any):
- Airlines flying to & from Saudi Arabia can’t serve alcohol in Saudi Arabian airspace; while they could technically serve drinks outside of that airspace, most airlines just ban alcohol on Saudi Arabia routes altogether, to keep things simple
- There are several airlines that don’t serve alcohol on domestic flights, including Air India, Oman Air, Thai Airways, and Turkish Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines doesn’t serve alcohol on regional flights within Southeast Asia, but does serve alcohol on longer, international routes
- Unrelated to whether airlines are dry or not, keep in mind that some airlines don’t serve alcohol on the ground, since alcohol is often taxed in such situations
Is it worth avoiding dry airlines?
People have different takes as to how “bad” it is to fly on a dry airline. On the one end of the spectrum, there are people who will avoid dry airlines at all costs. On the other end of the spectrum, you have billions of people who don’t drink alcohol at all, so this is a non-issue.
Personally I’m probably somewhere in the middle:
- When I’m not traveling, I rarely drink alcohol; I never drink at home, but might once in a while have a drink or two if I go out to dinner, but that’s about it
- I don’t really drink alcohol on domestic flights, since usually airlines aren’t serving good stuff anyway
- On international premium cabin flights, I do typically enjoy a couple of drinks; there’s something fun about it at times, and for that matter, I’m a horrible airplane sleeper, so a bit of alcohol does help me get at least some sleep
- It’s also worth emphasizing that even if you do usually drink, there is merit to drinking less when you fly; alcohol dehydrates you, and arguably alcohol is bad for helping you get over jet lag
- One thing that frustrates me about many dry airlines is how little effort they put into their non-alcoholic drinks; it’s fine not to have alcohol, but at least have a great selection of soft drinks, coffee, tea, etc.
Bottom line
Airlines often reflect their local customs and religions, so it’s not surprising that many airlines don’t serve alcohol onboard. If you definitely want alcohol when you fly, avoid airlines like Saudia. If you would like a drink when you fly, the good news is that some dry airlines actually let you bring your own alcohol, within certain limitations.
While the above doesn’t cover 100% of situations, hopefully it’s a useful, basic rundown of some of the bigger airlines that are dry.
How strongly do you feel about dry airlines? Does this policy impact your airline choice?
No alcohol in economy class is bearable, but to be charged an outrageous fare for business class and be served coca cola is grim. Interestingly some of these "dry" airlines have to discount their business class fares to fill seats up front.
One advantage to dry airlines: not having a drunk throw up on me.
Air India has entered the chat
Not much mention of Duty Free Purchases.
There’s a growing swell of opinion that UK ULCC flights should be dry. Too many alcohol-related incidents on planes recently.
Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia does not serve alcohol but their long-haul subsidiary AirAsia X sells them. No airlines in India can sell or serve alcohol in domestic flights as it is mandated by the government. You can bring alcohol but cannot consume it in domestic Indian flights.
I've flown a few on your list mainly because they had award availability on the dates I preferred to fly. I drink but I'm also ok not drinking for 24 hours if it means I'll get to my destination in an affordable way using points.
I’ve travelled on Royal Brunei several times in business and they were more than happy to allow us to consume our own Champagne and wine
I thought Royal Air Marc was also a dry airline?
This post reminded us old-timers about how passenger railroads in the US were required to observe state and even county/local laws about sales by the drink. For instance the Santa Fe stopped serving drinks once a westbound train left Kansas City Union Station because the train would be shortly entering Kansas which at the time was a dry state.
Lounge and dining car staff had to know where the boundaries between dry and wet jurisdictions were located.
For at least a time in the 1970s, when it was illegal to sell liquor/wine/non-3.2 beer by the drink, Kansas' attorney general would bring charges against airlines which served when over Kansas airspace. There was actually a team that would book flights likely to fly over Kansas to observe when there was service.
Longtime bartender/steward for Amtrak here. This is still the case on Amtrak today. The staff have to know the relevant rules for hours of service for the states their train travels through and comply the local laws.
As both interstate and intrastate commerce, Amtrak simply pays the applicable taxes in the jurisdiction where the liquor was sourced. For example the Chicago commissary pays IL tax on alcohol. In LAX, they pay CA applicable taxes. In...
Longtime bartender/steward for Amtrak here. This is still the case on Amtrak today. The staff have to know the relevant rules for hours of service for the states their train travels through and comply the local laws.
As both interstate and intrastate commerce, Amtrak simply pays the applicable taxes in the jurisdiction where the liquor was sourced. For example the Chicago commissary pays IL tax on alcohol. In LAX, they pay CA applicable taxes. In locations where A,track does not source liquor, they do not pay local taxes, such as when the train traverses Kansas or New Mexico.
Amtrak has (generally speaking) an “On-Premises” liquor license, meaning sales on board are legal within the hours for the state the train is currently in. This used to mean no alcohol before noon in Texas on Sunday. I believe this has changed in the past few years in Texas, but I’m not 100% sure. It also used to mean no sales at all on Sundays in Louisiana. Interestingly it’s only in the past ~15 years that Sunday sales have been legal on Amtrak in IL. It used to be Amtrak didn’t have a Sunday license, but they got one in I think 2011.
Election and holiday restrictions on liquor sales also apply to Amtrak, but they don’t seem to for airlines. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Aerolineas Argentinas does not serve alcohol on domestic and regional flights. They do serve alcohol on intercontinental flights to Madrid and Miami.
Airlines that ban alcohol should just be avoided as it just shows that they or the countries that operate them are likely closed-minded zealots.
Countries that operate them are likely closed-minded zealots?
Why just stop at alcohol, why not abortions, fighting other people's proxy war, etc?
why-not-both.gif
Yes, they would be much cleaner without the muck from people like you and others as well on this blog...go on now and bombard the blog with more trash replies ....
Now which Airline is Dry But has the most Drunks show up in the Flight? That would be PIA originating from London or Dubai.
I thought it was Air India. Those passengers go berserk
It is, But they are known for urinating & pooping on Fellow passengers.
Still less than the number of drunk Brits and Western people.....
Maybe a good idea to avoid some of these airlines for other reasons, like they are affiliated with hostile and unwelcoming regimes.
Your name is literally telling the situation you're facing now.
And which ones are the welcoming regimes? The ones sponsoring a genocide and at the same time lecturing others about human rights? Take you dirty mind and trash comments somewhere else.
Surprised not to see Pakistan Airlines on this list
@ Willem -- Check again, it is on the list. :-)
Sure is! Ma b
You know when Americans have a drinking problem is when you need to blog and people read about airlines that don't serve alcohol.
People pay huge annual fees for credit cards just to line up to get into airport lounge for free alcohol.
“…line up to get into airport lounge for free alcohol.”
How do you know people’s intentions for going to an airport lounge?
Sounds like projection, if we’re to be honest.
Good point, my theory is either free food or free booze.
I always want a lounge, especially crowded ones like Centurion or SkyClub, to run an experiment.
One with food and no alcohol the other with alcohol but no food.
Side by side and see which line is longer.
I bet the lounge line with food will be longer. I see most people eat something in lounges but maybe half with what appears to be an alcoholic drink. Fun fact, many of the lounges used to have paid bars and no food and they were HEAVEN. I go to the lounge for the quiet, a comfortable seat and a clean bathroom where I don't have to schlep all my stuff. Not the free food...
I bet the lounge line with food will be longer. I see most people eat something in lounges but maybe half with what appears to be an alcoholic drink. Fun fact, many of the lounges used to have paid bars and no food and they were HEAVEN. I go to the lounge for the quiet, a comfortable seat and a clean bathroom where I don't have to schlep all my stuff. Not the free food or drinks. I'll eat something maybe half the time and have a drink probably one in ten times, usually on vacation or traveling internationally.