State Says: No License, No Alcohol

After learning US Airways has no state liquor license, officials in New Mexico have ordered the carrier to stop serving alcohol on all its flights while over the Land of Enchantment.

The situation came to a head as state officials investigated a fatal automobile crash last year, in which one of the drivers was drunk. The man had just arrived in Albuquerque, aboard a US Airways flight.

During their investigation, New Mexico authorities found that Dana Papst was driving the wrong way on I-25 near Santa Fe when he hit a minivan carrying a couple and their three children head on.

The November 11 wreck claimed the lives of five peoplem, including Papst. One of the couple's children survived the crash and now lives with relatives. A state medical examiner determined Papst's blood-alcohol level was four times the state's legal limit.

Ed Lopez, superintendent of the state Regulation and Licensing Department, told the Associated Press, "We're interpreting it to apply to all US Airways flights scheduled to arrive in or depart from New Mexico. They should not be selling alcohol while in New Mexico airspace."

Lopez said without a license, the airline is "effectively bootlegging."

The state issued a cease and desist order to US Airways on Monday. Lopez says all other major airlines operating in the state are licensed. Additionally, the state department of public safety issued an administrative citation to the carrier for serving alcohol to an already drunk patron.

US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said, "We're aware of the order and we're going to comply." Federal regulations allow airlines engaged in interstate commerce to sell alcohol while flying over areas where sales are prohibited.

According to Lopez, the airline has two weeks to comply with the order, then it may apply for a liquor license.

State authorities have also accused a Bernalillo, NM convenience store of selling an already drunk Papst alcohol between the time he got off the flight and the crash.

FMI: www.usairways.com, www.dps.nm.org, www.rld.state.nm.us