Ryanair warns passengers who 'drink in airports before flights'
Ryanair could introduce new rules for passengers who drink before flights. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary is demanding European Union airports introduce a limit of two alcoholic drinks per passenger as part of a crackdown on drunken behaviour.
Ryanair said it is “time that EU authorities take action” to help prevent such incidents by intervening to limit the consumption of alcohol at airport bars. It said: “We fail to understand why passengers at airports are not limited to two alcoholic drinks, using their boarding pass in exactly the same way they limit duty-free sales.
“This would result in safer and better passenger behaviour on board aircraft and a safer travel experience for passengers and crews all over Europe.” Ryanair said it was calling on Brussels to step in because European governments had repeatedly failed to take action against drunk travellers.
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Mr O’Leary has said it is difficult for crew to spot drunken passengers as they board, particularly if they do so as a group. The situation is worse after flight delays, Ryanair said, when passengers consume excess alcohol without any limit on purchase or consumption.
Ryanair - which is rivalled by Jet2, Easyjet and TUI and more - is suing a passenger it claims disrupted a flight between Dublin and Lanzarote, seeking €15,000 (£12,500) in damages to cover expenses incurred when the plane was diverted to Portugal.
The airline said it had filed proceedings in Dublin’s circuit court against the passenger, whose behaviour on the flight last April it described as “inexcusable” and “completely unacceptable.” The damages would cover the cost of overnight accommodation and other expenses it had to pay for people onboard the flight after the aircraft was diverted to Porto.
Ryanair said it would “continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour on aircraft”. The airline said the passenger’s behaviour forced the flight in question to divert to Porto, where it was delayed overnight, and caused 160 passengers to “face unnecessary disruption as well as losing a full day of their holiday”.