Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary is calling for a two-drink limit on bar sales at European airports due to what he’s called “record numbers” of air rage incidents on flights.
In the US, after a peak of antisocial behaviour on board planes post Covid-19 restrictions, the Federal Aviation Authority is still referring high numbers of assaults to the FBI for follow up and prosecution. And O’Leary says, Europe is no better, partly due to passenger irritation with flights not being on schedule, and partly due to how passengers fill that extra time.
“We are seeing record numbers,” the budget airline CEO told The Independent. “We and most of the airlines around Europe are seeing a spike upwards, particularly this summer, of disgruntled passengers on board. I think the real challenge is: flight delays are up at a record high this summer, so people are spending time in airports drinking before they board aircraft.”
Drugs and booze to blame
In what he described as “a growing trend”, O’Leary classed passenger fights as “the biggest challenge our crews are dealing with” and added that there is “at least one bad case of assault on a weekly basis now.” He named routes to Ibiza as particularly problematic.
As well as passengers acting out because of disruption to flights and too much time to consume alcohol in airports, O’Leary said the increase in violence is due to drugs. “You would always have drunk passengers but drunk passengers generally fall asleep,” he said. “Drunk passengers who are on powder and tablets get aggressive.”
Harsher penalties and bar limits
One solution he put forward was a requirement to show and scan boarding passes when buying an alcoholic drink at an airport bar, which would enable bar staff to keep track of how much passengers are consuming. Passengers already need to show boarding passes for some duty free purchases, but no such rule is in place at airport drinkeries. He also called for more severe penalties for airside aggression.
“We’ve made submissions to the governments across Europe. We want two things. One: much more effective fines – fining passengers by the local magistrates when they’re hauled off planes for disruptive behaviour. And two: we need to have a ban on airports – not selling alcohol, but limiting the amount of alcohol that can be sold to any passenger to two alcoholic drinks. So in the same way that you have to show your boarding pass when you go through duty free to buy cigarettes or alcohol, we believe you should have to show your boarding pass to buy an alcoholic drink at a bar at an airport. And you shouldn’t be served more than two alcoholic drinks – particularly when flights are delayed.”
