Airline demands two-drink limit at airports to combat bad behaviour
Ryanair is once again calling for airports to clamp down on once again before their flights, saying it would help create a "safer travel experience for passengers and crews".
The low-cost Irish carrier has recently started legal proceedings against an alleged "disruptive" passenger who caused a flight to divert.
The airline is suing the unnamed traveller in an Irish court for €15,000 ($24,900) after their actions caused a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote in Spain to divert to Porto in Portugal in April last year. The passenger was taken off the flight and arrested.
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Ryanair is once again calling for airports to clamp down on passengers drinking too much before their flights. AP
The 160 passengers and six crew had to spend the night in Porto before resuming their journey the next day. Ryanair has revealed how it broke down the €15,000 costs:
- Excess fuel - €800
- Passenger and crew overnight accommodation - €7000
- Porto Airport landing/handling fees - €2500
- Loss of inflight sales - €750
- Replacement crew costs - €1800
- Portuguese legal fees (so far) - €2500
- Total - €15,350
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An airline spokesperson said European governments "repeatedly fail to take action when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety and force them to divert".
Ryanair wants a two-drink limit on passengers, which can be checked "using their boarding pass in exactly the same way they limit duty free sales".
Ryanair wants a two-drink limit on passengers. Getty
"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."
It is not the first time that the airline has called for change.
Earlier last year, CEO Michael O'Leary made the appeal for a two-drink limit at airports in a bid to stop in-flight violence.
"It's not that easy for airlines to identify people who are inebriated at the gate, particularly if they are boarding with two or three others," he said in comments reported in The Telegraph.
"As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through. Then when the plane takes off we see the misbehaviour."
This story was originally published by Stuff and has been reproduced here with permission.
