Ryanair, with the support of other airlines, has repeated its call for tougher controls on alcohol at airports. Last year, the airline, as an example, provided details of the cost and fees it incurred as a direct result of a disruptive passenger on board a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote.
Because of the disruptive passenger’s behaviour, the aircraft was forced to divert to Porto, where it landed and the passenger was offloaded and arrested. Due to crew hours restrictions the aircraft, crew and over 160 passengers were forced to overnight in Porto Airport, with the cost of accommodation, meals, etc being funded entirely by Ryanair.
As a direct result of this disruptive passenger behaviour, over 160 passengers and 6 crew were forced to divert to, and overnight in Porto Airport, and then flew onwards to Lanzarote on the following day. A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “None of these costs would have been incurred if this disruptive passenger had not forced a diversion to Porto in order to protect the safety of the aircraft, 160 passengers and 6 crew members on board.
"European Govts repeatedly fail to take action when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety and force them to divert. In this case, the Portuguese Prosecution ruled that because the aircraft and the passenger are Irish, this case should be transferred to Ireland.” And now, airports should be banned from serving alcohol to passengers before early morning flights, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said. O’Leary said Ryanair was being forced to divert an average of nearly one flight every day because of bad behaviour onboard, up from one a week a decade ago.
In an interview with The Times, 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 which apply to other venues selling alcohol.
O’Leary said: “There should be no alcohol served at airports outside (those) licensing hours. It is time that EU authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports. Airlines, like Ryanair, already restrict and limit the sale of alcohol on board our aircraft, particularly in disruptive passenger cases. However, during flight delays, passengers are consuming excess alcohol at airports without any limit on purchase or consumption."
“We fail to understand why passengers at airports are not limited to 2 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.”
However, British travel habits are apparently changing. Not only do more people want a holiday experience while some are trying to avoid the peak hot summer months, it appears that the new generation of traveller is giving up the pre-fight airport boozing and also altering their packing operations.
It will be good new for Ryanair, for example, which has been campaigning for years to crackdown on airport drinking to reduce incidents on board flights due. Many other airlines and the travel industry as a whole has tried to push for similar controls. New research from Lloyds Bank suggests the traditional image of the “Brit abroad” is rapidly fading, with seven in ten (71%) holidaymakers now identifying as a “traveller” rather than a “tourist”.