Cognac fan downs bottle in airport LAGs dispute

A Chinese passenger who was told at airport security that she could not board a plane with her £120 bottle of Cognac promptly downed it rather than let it go to waste.

The passenger downed an entire bottle of Cognac before boarding as she didn’t want it to go to waste

She was connecting from an international to a domestic flight at Beijing Capital International Airport last Friday when the incident occurred.

Chinese liquids and gels (LAGs) restrictions prohibit passengers from carrying liquids over 100ml onto an aircraft in hand luggage.

Fearing her 700ml Cognac would go to waste, the woman drank the entire bottle before being denied boarding because she was “too drunk to fly”.

According to reports, the woman, known as Zhao, had purchased the bottle of Rémy Martin XO Excellence at an airport in the US.

“She was so drunk… she couldn’t even stand up,” one airport officer reported. “We took her to a room in a wheelchair so she could rest.”

Zhao slept for “some hours”. On waking, she thanked police for taking care of her and then travelled home with family members.

LAGs restrictions, introduced following an attempted terrorist attack in 2006, are often cited as a barrier to purchase in travel retail as customers do not understand what they can and can’t carry.