Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, has voiced concerns over disruptive behavior from intoxicated passengers during flights.
The airline is proposing a two-drink limit for passengers at airports to reduce incidents of violence, especially when alcohol is mixed with other substances, as reported by the BBC.
“We don’t want to deny people a drink. However, we don’t allow them to drive under the influence, so why send them onto planes at 10,000 meters drunk?” said O’Leary.
He explained that drunk passengers often target crew members and other travelers, contributing to flight delays. “In the past, those who drank too much would pass out or fall asleep. Now, passengers are also mixing alcohol with pills,” he added. “This combination leads to much more aggressive behavior, which is difficult to manage.”
It is challenging for airlines to identify intoxicated individuals at boarding gates, especially in groups. “Once the plane takes off, that’s when we see the inappropriate behavior,” O’Leary explained. Ryanair has started inspecting passengers’ bags for alcohol on flights from the UK to Ibiza, a popular party destination.
Ryanair first called for restrictions on alcohol sales at airports in June when a Dublin-Ibiza flight had to divert to Paris-Beauvais airport after three intoxicated passengers caused trouble, leading to their removal by police.
“It’s the responsibility of airports to implement preventative measures to curb excessive drinking and the problems it causes,” the airline said in a statement. “It’s entirely unfair that airports profit from unlimited alcohol sales, while airlines are left to deal with the safety consequences.”
Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, operates over 2,000 flights daily from about 215 airports across Europe and North Africa, carrying 130 million passengers annually. In August alone, it transported 20.5 million passengers, an 8% increase from the previous year, with a load factor of 96%.
