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Passenger quaffs fine wine blocked by Frankfurt airport security, lands huge fine

The Local Germany
The Local Germany - [email protected]
Passenger quaffs fine wine blocked by Frankfurt airport security, lands huge fine
An empty wine bottle. Photo: Deposit Photos"

A pensioner’s trip to Thailand was ruined last week when he decided to drink two bottles of wine which didn’t get through a security check at Frankfurt Airport.

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The 67-year-old German citizen was not allowed to board his flight last Thursday due to excessive alcohol consumption, the federal police announced on Monday.

The fine wines were intended to be given as gifts to the man’s hosts in Thailand. But since the pensioner had stored the bottles in his hand luggage, he wasn’t able to get them through security check as they violated air safety regulations.

According to the passenger’s statements, the precious liquid was expensive so he was not prepared to let it go to waste. And so he decided to drink the wine before passing through security.

He didn’t get much farther than that though; his inebriated state meant that the airline would not let him board the plane.

Probably in a search of a toilet, the wine lover then opened a locked door via an emergency button and airport officials had to prevent him from walking out onto the tarmac, the police report states, adding that the unauthorized entry constituted an administrative offence.

At this point the federal police arrived at the scene as the man appeared uncooperative.

He was given a breathalyzer test and it revealed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.96 per mille.

After the pensioner had sobered up about three hours later, the officials who accompanied him to the airport’s exit pointed out that a taxi ride to his home town in Baden-Württemberg would cost about €150 and suggested he take public transport instead.

“I have already mucked up so much money today that taxi fares no longer play a role," he told the officials. According to police, the man faces a fine of up to €10,000.

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