Alcoholic drinks served on flights are at the center of a conflict in New Mexico over whether airlines should be required to get liquor licenses in states where they land or take off.
New Mexico, which is trying to reduce drunken driving, is tightening enforcement on airlines serving liquor. Some airlines, however, believe it’s the federal government – not the states – that regulates how airlines serve liquor in the air.
Denver-based Frontier Airlines, which flies into Albuquerque, has been particularly vocal about its position that if every state decided to require airlines to comply with liquor laws the way New Mexico has, it would be “a very cumbersome issue” for airlines, according to Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas.
The conflict flared up in November, when a man named Dana Papst reportedly drank on a US Airways flight that landed in Albuquerque. According to reports, he got in his car to drive home to Tesuque, stopped in Bernalillo to buy a six-pack of beer and ended up driving down Interstate 25 the wrong way. He collided with a minivan, killing five people and himself. At the time of the accident, Papst’s blood-alcohol level was four times the legal limit for drivers.
Papst was born in Westminster, according to a funeral notice.
The state of New Mexico issued a citation to US Airways, but the airline didn’t have a state liquor license. The state said without a liquor license, US Airways could not serve alcoholic drinks on its New Mexico flights.
US Airways got a temporary license and resolved the Papst citation, but last month it was denied an extension for the license, partly because it was issued another citation in May for serving an intoxicated customer. The airline has stopped serving liquor on its New Mexico flights.
US Airways’ application for a permanent liquor license is still under review by the state.
A federal investigation found US Airways did not violate regulations for serving alcoholic beverages on aircraft in the Papst incident – in conflict with New Mexico’s findings that Papst was served while already drunk.
This month, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson issued a statement saying “states must be more involved in regulating the serving of alcohol on airlines that fly into our state and have a direct impact on the public safety of New Mexico citizens.”
Frontier Airlines decided not to apply for a New Mexico liquor license for its flights to and from Albuquerque and stopped serving liquor on those flights.
Frontier believes the FAA has jurisdiction over the airlines for serving liquor in-flight because interstate travel is federally regulated, Hodas said.
“If each state individually says, ‘Well, they need to comply with our liquor laws,’ you set a precedent that the states get to regulate airlines instead of the federal regulation,” he said.
Among the things Frontier takes issue with is New Mexico’s requirement that airlines demonstrate they have a server training program equivalent to New Mexico’s alcohol-server training program.
But to New Mexico, where the governor has made the fight against driving while intoxicated a top priority and appointed a DWI czar to reduce DWI casualties, state law “is pretty clear” that airlines that serve alcohol in the state are subject to its liquor control act, said New Mexico regulation and licensing department spokesman Bob Hagan.
“Bottom line is that New Mexico has a serious DWI problem,” Hagan said. “And we need to do everything we can to reduce the incidence of DWI in the state.”
For now, Frontier will not apply for a New Mexico liquor license “until such a time that it’s important to get a license,” Hodas said.
But that time will likely come soon. Frontier has received federal approval to begin flying between Albuquerque and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and would apply for a New Mexico liquor license because of those flights, Hodas said.
Requirements vary
Different states have different liquor license requirements for airlines. Colorado requires airlines to have liquor licenses if their flights originate in Colorado or if they maintain a commissary for liquor, according to Colorado Division of Liquor/Tobacco Enforcement acting division director Dan Hartman. Frontier, for example, has a liquor license in Colorado.
Denver and Colorado officials said they do not know of an instance where an airline has been cited for serving an intoxicated customer.
“It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for us to take a case like that if the circumstances were appropriate,” said Lynn Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office.
US Airways, like Frontier, contends that serving liquor in- flight is governed by federal aviation regulations.
“Our contention is we don’t need a liquor license but we’re going ahead and getting one, primarily because we’re good citizens,” US Airways spokesman Andrea Rader said. “But there are a lot of federal, constitutional, regulatory and states’ rights issues.”
Airlines point to federal regulation, which says, among other things, that an airline may not serve an alcoholic beverage to anyone aboard its aircraft who appears to be intoxicated.
But that regulation doesn’t specifically say state law is trumped, said Richard Collins, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Law School.
States argue they have special authority under the 21st Amendment, which gives states certain controls over liquor.
US Airways has liquor licenses in 26 states, primarily where it operates an airline club or would cater the aircraft, and said most states do not have the same requirements as New Mexico.
“Right now what we’re trying to do is come to some sort of peaceful resolution of the entire issue,” Rader said. “We’re kind of in limbo at the moment.”
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com.
