[stevicus]

Originally Posted by Jetliner

That you appear to be under the influence. If you are able to walk in a straight fashion past me when handing me your boarding pass, and you aren't slurring your speech, then you will make it. However if you are stumbling around and you say to me "Hiiiiiiii Mither gate person", with your hand holding your boarding pass going all over the place, well, your chances of getting past just got reduced to zero.

We have had occasions where a flight attendant will tell us at boarding that they need a passenger removed because they are drunk or high. The question comes up how did they even make it down the aircraft. The answer is simply they were able to walk just fine going past the gate agent, and many people don't say anything as they board. Reminds me of one incident in which a lady got past the gate agent, but about 1/3 of the way down the jetway fell and couldn't get back up. Long story short she was wasted on prescription pain meds.

While we do get training on what effects the common drugs will have, we are not trained to make a determination as to which ones you are on. So it's simply that you appear to be under the influence. Period. Notice it's not under the influence of something in particular, and that does not just mean drunk.

Thanks for the detailed answer. I think the main thing that gives me away is the smell of beer on my breath, so that's what I'm usually most self-conscious about in those situations.

I've heard of situations where people have speech impediments or neurological disorders which might make them appear drunk or high. I used to work with a guy who had a really nasty seizure disorder, and he took some pretty heavy-duty anti-seizure medications which made him appear somewhat "zombified." But if he ever had to go on an airplane, he would have someone like me or a family member go with him.