The chief executive said the measure would reduce the number of passengers who were disruptive on board aircraft
Ban early morning pre-flight pint, says Ryanair boss
Airports should be banned from serving alcohol to passengers before early-morning flights, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said, adding that the measure would reduce the number of passengers who were disruptive on board aircraft.
Mr O’Leary said Ryanair was being forced to divert an average of nearly one flight a day because of bad behaviour on board, up from one a week a decade ago.
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 that apply to other venues selling alcohol.
Mr O’Leary said: “There should be no alcohol served at airports outside licensing hours.”
He added that Ryanair rarely serves more than two drinks to a passenger and called for a two-drink limit to be introduced at airports.
“We are reasonably responsible,” he said, “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.”
Today’s News in 90 Seconds – May 6th
Being intoxicated on a plane is a criminal offence and, depending on jurisdiction, can result in large fines and jail time. Passengers may even be liable for the full cost of diverting a flight, which can range from €10,000 to over €80,000.
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 in damages related to a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote.
