(File pic) The Irish airline wants to limit how much alcohol can be purchased in departure lounges (Image: Getty)
Air passengers should be limited to two alcoholic drinks before flying from airports in the , according to Irish airline .
The airline made the claim as incurred after
A spokesperson said: “It is time that EU authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports.” A similar measure, if tackled by EU authorities, would affect only British tourists travelling from airports within the 27-strong group.
The incident happened in April 2024 when an unruly passenger’s “inexcusable behaviour” caused a flight from to to be diverted to , with the budget airline forced to pay out for accommodation for staff and more than 160 passengers.
The airline was also forced to provide an additional aircraft to transport passengers waiting for the return flight and incurred costs for Portuguese legal fees, airport handling charges and additional fuel.
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Ryanair believes EU authorities should take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports (Image: Getty)
Ryanair believes that limiting the amount of alcohol passengers are able to consume in departure lounges could prevent the vast majority of incidents.
The spokesperson added: “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.”
Ryanair already limits the amount of alcohol passengers are able to buy in-flight but highlighted that no restrictions exist in departure lounges, a problem especially prevalent during long delays.
Incidents of inappropriate behaviour include violence, verbal abuse, harassment and smoking.
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The Aviation Safety Agency notes an increase in the amount of flights being disrupted and the severity of disruptions since 2020.
Additionally, data provided by the International Air Transport Association estimates that there was one disruptive incident for every 480 flights worldwide in 2023, an increase from one in 568 flights in 2022.
Whilst data on how many of those disruptions were alcohol related does not exist, it is believed to be a likely factor in many of those recorded.