Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary demands two-drink limit at EU airports

To help tackle drunkenness on flights, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has called on Brussels to limit the consumption of alcohol at airport bars. Photo / 123rf

The chief executive of Ryanair is demanding European airports introduce a limit of two alcoholic drinks per passenger as part of a crackdown on drunken behaviour.

Michael O’Leary has called on Brussels to intervene after previously making similar demands in the UK, as Ryanair seeks to stop passengers from getting too drunk before boarding.

It comes just days after the budget airline launched a €15,000 claim ($27,590) against a passenger whose “inexcusable behaviour” disrupted a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote in April last year, forcing it to divert to Porto.

Zero tolerance on disruptive passengers 🚫
 
Last April, the unruly behaviour of one individual caused a diversion that resulted in 160 people losing a day of their holiday.
 
We have now filed civil proceedings against the passenger, demonstrating the consequences passengers… pic.twitter.com/4x0qgSOMLv

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) January 8, 2025

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.

In the case of the Portuguese diversion, local prosecutors ruled that since both the plane and passenger concerned were Irish, the case should be transferred to Dublin.

That prompted Ryanair to file civil proceedings in the Irish Circuit Court in the first case of its kind.

The airline, which has not commented on the nature of the disruption, said it incurred a bill of €7000 for overnight accommodation for passengers and crew in Porto, where the plane was forced to land, together with €2500 for landing and handling fees.

It is also claiming €1800 in replacement crew costs after having to deploy a separate plane for the delayed return from Lanzarote, €800 for excess fuel and €750 for lost in-flight sales. Ryanair also spent €2500 on Portuguese legal fees, amounting to a total of €15,350.

The potential compensation is far greater than those typically handed down by courts in criminal prosecutions involving rowdy or unruly travellers.

A Greek court last month imposed a €400fine and five-month suspended sentence on a man who disrupted a flight to Athens in July 2020 by refusing to follow the crew’s instructions.

Figures from the International Air Transport Association lobby group show there was one incident every 480 flights in 2023, compared to one every 568 in 2022.

Failure to comply with instructions was the most commonly reported issue, though there has been a surge in verbal and physical abuse.

Ryanair said it already limits the sale of alcohol on board its aircraft, especially where there appears to be a threat of disruption.

However, 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.