New aviation minister Lord Ahmad has announced plans to examine the way alcohol is sold at airports amid a spate of plane incidents involving drunk passengers.

Lord Ahmad said he will review specific regulations of timings of outlets that sell alcohol, and how they operate.

He also pledged to make sure the way in which unruly travellers are stopped from going through airport departure gates is "fit for purpose".

"If you're a young family travelling on a plane you want to go from point A to B - you don't want to be disrupted," Lord Ahmad said.

"I don't think we want to kill merriment altogether, but I think it's important that passengers who board planes are also responsible and have a responsibility to other passengers, and that certainly should be the factor which we bear in mind."

Lord Ahmad, who was appointed aviation minister by Theresa May when she became prime minister earlier this month, highlighted the importance of screening travellers before they board planes.

Lord Ahmad's predecessor Robert Goodwill revealed last year that several airlines had written to the government to warn about the number of alcohol-related incidents.

Hundreds of passengers have been arrested on suspicion of being drunk on a plane or at an airport within the last two years, according to recent police figures.

Tim Alderslade, Chief Executive of the British Air Transport Association, and Ed Anderson, Chairman of the Airport Operators Association, said in a joint statement: "These incidents can be costly and cause delays.

"With air travel proving more popular than ever, and passenger numbers expected to rise across the whole of the UK in the coming years, now is the time to tackle this problem collectively."

A code of practice on disruptive passengers was published earlier this week following collaboration between airlines, airports, the police and retailers.

The "zero tolerance" approach includes airport shops advising passengers not to drink alcohol they have purchased before or during their flight, and training staff in bars and restaurants to limit or stop the sale of alcohol to prevent or manage disruptive behaviour.

In February, six men on a stag party were arrested by German police after a mid-air brawl caused a Ryanair flight from Luton to Slovakia, to divert to Berlin.