Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary has called for a ban on airports serving alcohol to passengers before early morning flights, arguing that such a measure would significantly reduce disruptive behaviour on board aircraft. Mr O'Leary highlighted a concerning trend, stating that Ryanair is now compelled to divert almost one flight every day due to passenger misconduct. This figure marks a sharp rise from approximately one diversion per week recorded a decade ago.
O'Leary's concerns
In an interview with The Times, Mr O'Leary said: “It’s becoming a real challenge for all airlines. I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning. Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?”
Airside bars in the UK are not required to follow restrictions on opening hours which apply to other venues selling alcohol. Mr O'Leary said: “There should be no alcohol served at airports outside (those) licensing hours.”
Two-drink limit proposal
Mr O'Leary stated that Ryanair rarely serves more than two drinks to a passenger and called for a two-drink limit to be introduced at airports. He added: “We are reasonably responsible, but the ones who are not responsible, the ones who are profiteering off it, are the airports who have these bars open at five or six o’clock in the morning and during delays are quite happy to send these people as much alcohol as they want because they know they’re going to export the problem to the airlines.”
Being drunk on a plane is a criminal offence and can be punished by a fine of up to £5,000 and two years’ imprisonment. In January last year, Ryanair announced it had started taking legal action to recover losses against disruptive passengers when they forced a flight to be diverted. It said it filed legal proceedings against a passenger in Ireland to seek 15,000 euros (£12,500) in damages related to a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote.
