Ryanair demands EU airports limit passengers to two alcoholic drinks

Ryanair is demanding that passengers be stopped from drinking too much before boarding flights.

The budget airline believes it would help with the growing problem of disruptive behaviour onboard its flights.

“It is time that EU authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports,” the Irish airline said in a statement.

“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), as this would result in safer and better passenger behaviour on board aircraft, and a safer travel experience for passengers and crews all over Europe.”

The demand comes as Ryanair is suing a passenger for €15,000 after their behaviour caused a flight to be diverted in April 2024.

The budget airline alleges that this passenger’s “inexcusable behaviour” on a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote was so disruptive that it forced the aircraft to divert to Porto, Portugal for safety – where they had to pay for crew members and over 160 other passengers to stay overnight.

Alcohol is already limited on flights

Ryanair pointed out that it and other airlines already limit alcohol sales in-flight – but said that passengers can still consume excess alcohol at airports before boarding, particularly during flight delays, without similar restrictions.

Aviation agencies have long expressed concern with disruptive, in-flight incidents – particularly those that result in violence against others on board, verbal abuse, harassment or other health hazards like smoking.

What is the financial cost of diverting a plane?

Ryanair has released details of the costs incurred after a disruptive passenger caused a flight to be diverted in April 2024.

More than 160 passengers and six crew were forced to stay overnight at Porto airport before flying onwards to Lanzarote on the following day.

The airline also had to provide an additional aircraft and crew to operate the delayed return flight from Lanzarote to Dublin.

The highest cost of €7,000 was to provide overnight accommodation and meals to passengers and crew in addition to €2,500 airport landing and handling fees, €1,800 in replacement crew costs €2,500 in Portuguese legal fees, €800 in excess fuel and €750 in lost in-flight sales.

Disruptive behaviour on flights is increasing

Although still rare, reports of unruly passengers on planes have recently been on the rise.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency notes that, while the agency could not provide specifics, “both the number and severity of incidents” have increased in Europe since 2020.

Worldwide, the International Air Transport Association found that there was one disruptive incident for every 480 flights in 2023, based on data from more 24,500 reports and 50 operators worldwide. That’s up from one every 568 in 2022.

How many of those incidents involved alcohol was not immediately known. But, among efforts aimed at preventing in-flight disruptive behavior overall, the IATA and other aviation groups have previously underlined the importance of serving alcohol responsibly, not allowing travelers who are too intoxicated to board and participating in additional safety initiatives, like ‘One Too Many’ in the UK.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration reported that it received 2,102 reports of unruly passenger incidents last year, resulting in $7.5 million (€7.3 million) in fines levied. That incident count is up 1 per cent from 2023, but still far below a 2021 peak of 5,973.