A passenger got "waterlogged" in the Air New Zealand lounge at Dunedin Airport and got so drunk that he was denied boarding. Now the carrier is taking action and no longer sells high-proof alcoholic beverages in self-service form.

Air New Zealand does offer lounges at some smaller airports, but these are operated without service personnel. The background is that the passenger volume is significantly lower in direct comparison with larger airports. At these airports, high-proof alcoholic beverages were previously offered in self-service. That's over now, because whiskey and co are only handed out by the staff. Where this is not available, there are also no more high-proof drinks.

The incident, which significantly influenced the carrier's decision, happened back in November of the previous year. A passenger over-served in the lounge and was so drunk afterwards that the woman was unable to board the flight. She was denied boarding and the police were also called due to her behavior.

The issue caused quite a stir, with the National Coordinator for Alcohol Harm Prevention urging Air New Zealand to stop dispensing alcohol in SB form in the future. There was an extensive discussion and the carrier then decided that spirits would only be served by the staff. For the users of the lounge in Dunedin, which is operated without service staff, this means that there are no longer any hard alcoholic beverages.