Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has promised to sue those who force flights to be diverted (Image: Getty)
Disruptive passengers who force planes to be diverted to other airports could end up being taken to court, the boss of has warned.
is currently seeking £12,500 in damages from who caused a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote to be diverted to Porto.
The Irish airlines boss, Michael O’Leary, has warned that the incident is not a one off and that they will do the same in future to reclaim the extra expenditure.
He told Sky News: “If passengers continue disrupting our flights, we will sue you for the cost of those diversions and those disruptions.”
He added: “We’re having two or three of these diversions a week.”
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The number of disruptive incidents has increased in recent years (Image: Getty)
Diverting a flight causes airlines to incur additional charges including airport handling costs, increased fuel requirements and sometimes, hotel stays for other passengers.
Following the incident, on the amount of alcohol people can purchase in an airport departure lounge, similar to measures currently in place for duty-free.
A spokesperson said: “It is time that EU authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports.
“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.”
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The Ryanair boss has vowed to reclaim damages from disruptive passengers (Image: Getty)
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.
The calls for restrictions have been echoed by Aer Lingus boss Padraig O’Ceidigh, who said: “I don’t think that alcohol should be sold on board an airplane, quite frankly.”
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.