The chief executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has called for a ban on airports serving alcohol to passengers before early morning flights. He argued that the move would significantly reduce the number of disruptive travellers who cause chaos on board aircraft.
Mr O’Leary revealed that Ryanair is currently forced to divert an average of nearly one flight every single day due to bad behaviour, a stark increase from just one diversion per week a decade ago.
In an interview, he questioned the necessity of dawn drinking sessions. “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?” he asked.
Currently, airside bars in the UK and Ireland are not required to follow the same licensing hour restrictions that apply to high street venues. Mr O’Leary insisted that there should be no alcohol served at airports outside of standard licensing hours.
The Ryanair boss also suggested a two-drink limit for passengers at airport bars. He claimed that while the airline is “reasonably responsible” and rarely serves more than two drinks to a passenger during a flight, airports are “profiteering” by allowing unlimited consumption during delays. He accused airports of being happy to provide as much alcohol as passengers want because they know they are going to “export the problem to the airlines.”
Being drunk on a plane is a criminal offence that can result in a fine of up to £5,000 and two years’ imprisonment. Ryanair has previously taken legal action to recover costs from unruly passengers, including a case in Ireland where it sought 15,000 euro in damages following a flight diversion from Dublin to Lanzarote.
Routes to “party destinations” such as Ibiza, Alicante and Tenerife have been identified as particularly problematic for alcohol-fuelled disruption.