JetBlue Passenger Pours Her Own Alcohol Onboard, Then Taunts The FAA

A JetBlue passenger shared video of herself drinking alcohol she’d brought on board herself. She says a a flight attendant told her this wasn’t allowed, so she shushed the camera and apparently set out to do it anyway. The video follows her carrying two large frozen drinks through the terminal and down the jet bridge. Once seated around row 6, she smiles, repeatedly signals “quiet,” and tips a clear miniature bottle into an ice-filled plastic cup on her tray table. The woman’s surrounding social media posts suggests this was in Aruba including visits to Secrets Baby Beach and to Flamingo Beach. Based on timing of that trip and video posting, and other social media showing she’s from Florida, this looks like JetBlue 1612 from Aruba to Fort Lauderdale on July 31. It looks like aircraft N621JB, which is a 2005 Airbus A320. Friends appear to enjoy the video’s mocking of inflight alcohol rules, while strangers commenting on the viral video warn about the FAA, fines and no fly lists. The passenger backs off a bit, calling the video “bait” and thanking critics for contributing to her “coins,” asking “but did I drink it though…and was it water?” One commenter invited a critic to “CC the FBI & homeland security” while reminding them to like, share and comment. Another asked whether “corporate security” offered good benefits for working nights in the comment section. The rule against drinking your own alcohol onboard is The actual regulation is 14 CFR §121.575(a). You can only drink an alcoholic beverage on a commercial flight when the operating carrier serves it. You can bring your own alcohol (subject to TSA liquid rules if bringing the bottle through security) and some other restrictions like alcohol content. You just can’t serve it to yourself. Some airlines will let you bring your own alcohol, and they’ll serve it to you. I’ve written about a United flight attendant confiscating open miniature bottles from passengers and passengers trying to disguise a mimosa inside a Starbucks cup. I even had a seat opponent on American Airlines bring alcohol from an Admiral’s Club onboard and argue that a flight attendant who wanted to collect it and serve the woman a new drink once in the air ‘was wasting company resources’. Law enforcement met the flight on arrival. The rule is designed to let cabin crew monitor how much a passenger is drinking and stop service when necessary. That doesn’t make drinking your own booze a “federal crime” though, since it’s usually civil regulatory matter. The maximum penalty is $17,062 per violation, but notably FAA enforcement guidance shows drinking alcohol not served by the carrier as Severity 1, the least serious category. Where there are significant fines it’s generally where there’s additional conduct like abuse, assaults, or a diversion. Posting the video afterward isn’t illegal, but it’s potentially evidence of the offense. They’d still have to prove that it was alcohol and that it was consumed. Topics on this page