An airline steward is asking: is it permissible for me to offer alcohol to passengers?

What the Muslim must do is fear Allah with regard to his
work, and seek out earnings that are lawful and wholesome. Allah has
made every person accountable for his actions and He will ask him about
his earnings: from where did he acquire them and on what did he spend
them? Anything that comes under the heading of disobedience to Allah or
disobedience to the Messenger must be avoided, and the Muslim must avoid
helping others with it, and he should strive to put a stop to it,
because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and
transgression”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]. 

Undoubtedly alcohol is the mother of all evils. The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) cursed ten people with regard to
alcohol: The one who presses (the grapes, etc), the one for whom they are
pressed, the one who drinks it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it
is carried, the one who pours it, the one who sells it, the one who consumes
its price, the one who purchases it, and the one for whom it is purchased. 

Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (1295); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani 

It is not permissible for the airline steward to serve
alcohol to the passengers, because that comes under the heading of approving
of evil and helping others with it. What he must do is pour it away or
destroy it, if he is able to do so; at the very least he should prevent
those who want to consume it, and tell them not to do that. Otherwise it is
not permissible for him to do this job in which he is not able to denounce
evil and, rather, he is encouraged to help others to do it. He has to give
up this job and look for a lawful means of earning a living and permissible
work. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: 

What is the ruling on an airline steward who is obliged to
carry alcohol on board the plane, and what should he do? 

They replied: 

Drinking alcohol is prohibited, and selling it and
manufacturing it is prohibited, and serving it to one who will drink it is
prohibited, because the one who serves it is helping the one who drinks it
to commit sin and transgression. Allah, may He be exalted,
says(interpretation of the meaning):

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and
transgression”

[al-Maa’idah 5:2]. 

Based on that, it is not permissible to remain in the job
mentioned. The ways of earning a living are many, and Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will
make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).

3. And He will provide him from (sources) he never could
imagine”

[al-Talaaq 65:2-3]. 

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (22/ 96) 

It is not permissible for the airline steward to serve
alcohol to the passengers, whether in small or great amounts, and whether he
serves it once or more than that. All of that is prohibited, although
prohibited things vary in degree, and the one who commits a sin several
times incurs a greater burden of sin than one who does it just once, and so
on. 

The questioner’s saying that alcohol is the right of the
passenger is completely incorrect. How can it be his right when Allah has
cursed the one who drinks it?! Whatever rights people claim that are
contrary to the commands and rulings of Allah, those rights are invalid,
because they are not rights at all. 

The fact that both stewards do not approve does not make it
permissible for them to cooperate in doing evil deeds and exposing
themselves to the wrath and curse of Allah – Allah forbid; rather not
approving means that one should not participate in the sin, or sit in the
place where it is being committed, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And it has
already been revealed to you in the Book (this Quran) that when you hear the
Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until
they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them)
certainly in that case you would be like them. Surely, Allah will collect
the hypocrites and disbelievers all together in Hell”

[an-Nisa’ 4:140]. 

Shaykh as-Sa ‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Allah has explained to you – in what He has revealed to you –
that His shar‘i rulings to be followed when attending gatherings in which
disbelief and sin are present: 

“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this
Quran) that when you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at”
that is, being belittled. That is because what is required of every
accountable person with regard to the Revelations of Allah is to believe in
them, then venerate them and respect them. That is the purpose for which
they were revealed, and it is the purpose for which Allah created His
creation. The opposite of belief is rejection of them, and the opposite of
respecting them is mocking them and scorning them. That includes the
arguments that the disbelievers and hypocrites may come up with to
invalidate the Revelations of Allah and support their disbelief. 

The same also applies to innovators of various types. Their
argument in support of their falsehood implies disrespect towards the
Revelations of Allah, because the revelation only supports the truth, and
does not contain anything but truth. And in fact this also applies to
attending gatherings of sin and immorality, in which the commands and
prohibitions of Allah are flouted and the limits that He has set for His
slaves are transgressed. This ruling also includes the prohibition on
sitting with them, “until they engage in a talk other than that” that
is, until they begin to talk about things other than disbelief in the
Revelations of Allah and ridiculing them. 

“(but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case”
that is, if you sit with them in the situation mentioned,

“you would be like them” because then you would be
approving of their disbelief and ridicule, and the one who approves of sin
is like the one who does it. The point is that whoever attends a gathering
in which Allah is disobeyed is obliged to object to them if he is able to,
or to get up and leave if he is not able to do so. 

End quote from Tafseer as-Sa‘di (210) 

Conclusion: 

It is not permissible for you to carry alcohol, or to give it
to any of the passengers, and even if the company orders you to do that,
there is no obedience to any created being if it involves disobedience
towards the Creator. In fact the minimum that you must do is hide it, and do
not let the passengers see it. If one of them looks for it, do not tell him
where it is, and if it so happens that one of them asks for it, and insists
on what the company has allowed him, you should not be the one who gives it
to him, or play any part in that. 

Please see also the answers to questions no.
1830 and 96739. 

And Allah knows best.