Two disruptive passengers who forced a Ryanair flight covering the route between London and Ibiza last May to divert will have to pay a combined fine exceeding 10,000 euros. According to a statement released by the company, this was decided by the Toulouse Criminal Court, which also sentenced them to ten months in prison, a sentence that has been suspended.
The airline has welcomed the court’s decision, which pertains to a flight that took place on May 17, 2025, between London Stansted Airport and Ibiza. According to Ryanair, the two passengers behaved “abusive” toward the other passengers and failed to comply with instructions given to them by the six crew members.
This disruptive behavior forced the flight to be interrupted and the plane, carrying 184 passengers, to be diverted to Toulouse Airport. Both have been found guilty by the French court and sentenced to ten months in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 euros.
Ryanair is committed to ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment free of unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers. Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take action to combat unruly passenger behaviour on aircraft for the benefit of the vast majority of passengers who do not disrupt flights.
Ryanair’s Jade Kirwan, said: “We welcome this decision by the Toulouse Criminal Court to convict these two disruptive passengers and sentence them with up to 10 months jail time and to pay a penalty of over €10,000.
“It is unacceptable that passengers – many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday – suffer unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of unruly passenger behaviour. Yet this was regrettably the case for passengers on this flight from Stansted to Ibiza in May last year, which was forced to divert to Toulouse as a result of two passenger’s disruptive behaviour.
“This conviction demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy, and we hope this action will deter further disruptive behaviour on flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment.” The ruling will add further weight to the airline’s campaign to crackdown on airport drinking.