Impose two-drink limit at airports to combat passenger violence, says Michael O’Leary
 

Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has called for a two drinks per passenger limit at airport bars to combat drunken disorder on flights and at airports.

Instances of in-flight violence have surged this summer with attacks now occurring on a weekly basis, Mr O’Leary said.

While assaults on cabin crew are of most concern, confrontations between passengers have become increasingly common, according to Mr O’Leary. He blamed a combination of alcohol with “powder and tablets”.

Mr O’Leary said: “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.

“As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through. Then when the plane takes off we see the misbehaviour.

“We don’t want to begrudge people having a drink. But we don’t allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000 feet.”

Mr O’Leary said the increase in assaults could be combated by permitting no more than two drinks per boarding pass before passengers board an aircraft. The restriction would be one of his three main recommendations for the new Labour Government.

The Ryanair chief told The Telegraph: “The airports of course are opposed to it and say that their bars don’t serve drunken passengers. But they do serve the relatives of the drunken passenger.”

Flights from the UK are particularly prone to violence, especially on services to so-called “party destinations” such as Ibiza and some Greek islands from regional airports including Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Ryanair has resorted to searching the bags of passengers bound for Ibiza before they are allowed to board.

Mr O’Leary said: “We used to only allow them to take bottles of water on board, not realising that they were full of vodka. Now we don’t even allow them to take those.

“In the old days people who drank too much would eventually fall over or fall asleep. But now those passengers are also on tablets and powder.

“It’s the mix. You get much more aggressive behaviour that becomes very difficult to manage. And it’s not directed just at the crew. Passengers fighting with each other is now a growing trend on board the aircraft.”

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Mr O’Leary issued his call after a British holidaymaker was last month convicted of sexually assaulting a flight attendant on a Ryanair flight from Newcastle to Majorca in 2023. The man touched the steward’s bottom “in a lewd way” after pretending he had credit card issues.

Last August a man was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting an attendant before spitting on her boss on a Jet2 flight from Manchester to Ibiza. Also in 2023, four men were removed from an easyJet plane from Manchester to Tenerife that was forced to divert to Lanzarote after violent clashes.

Sinead Quinn, who is responsible for the training of Ryanair’s 14,000 cabin crew, said the company was having to resort to passenger bans and increasingly shared information on problem flyers with peers.

She said: “The UK Is most challenging, the regions in particular. But there’s no particular profile. You have groups of young people, but it can be families and those you least expect.”

The situation is exacerbated when flights are delayed and passengers drink for several hours before boarding, according to Mr O’Leary, who said drink-fuelled violence was also an issue aboard some services from Ireland and Germany.

He said: “The biggest problem we have is when you have a day of bad delays. People are waiting around at airports and they keep lorrying alcohol into them.

“Most of our passengers show up an hour before departure. That’s sufficient for two drinks. But if your flight is delayed by two or three hours you can’t be guzzling five, six, eight, ten pints of beer. Go and have a coffee or a cup of tea. It’s not an alcoholics’ outing.”

He added: “What we’re asking for won’t affect profit. The bars can still sell their drinks and food. And yet government agencies in the UK and across Europe don’t take it seriously.”


https://uk.yahoo.com/finance/news/im...170856214.html

Yes as
he sells his own booze on his flights.

It wouldn't bother me personally.
Maybe 2 is enough.

I never drink alcohol before a flight anyhow, I'd rather a cup of tea.

Give them a five year flying ban if they are responsible for trouble on the planes or five years in prison

It’s time we made people responsible for their actions

The airports will never go for this, never seen any trouble on a flight but it must be very frightening for those that do

millions of flyers with a tiny fraction causing a problem, so ban everyones enjoyment. That sounds like a great plan

I've only once come across bother on a flight.
With only 4 really drunk people.
Which only began 45 minutes into the flight time.

It was unpleasant and irritating for the staff too.
It did cause distress too, to other passengers.

I realise unlike taxi, train or bus, a flight cannot stop mid-air to eject any causing unnecessary offence or disturbance.

So while it wouldn't bother me as to an airport 2 drinks ban.
I don't see how it could be monitored or implemented.
Plus what about drinking before going into the airport.
How could you really know that unless they were already obviously drunk.

It is a tiny fraction of people and flights that get affected.
You are right in that.

So while it wouldn't bother or affect me I just can't see how it could be really practically controlled.
So a likely non starter.

Two drinks is plenty for most unless you got a drink problem
The sad bastards can’t wait until they get to their destinations before drinking like dickheads

Nobody wants to be around drunk person unless you are predator or another drunk

I agree with all this too.
Very valid points there.

People can buy duty free spirits at airports, open the bottle and drink it all. People can do the same on flights. Indeed, are Ryan air going to stop selling booze on their flights, or are they actually trying to increase what the can sell on their planes by restricting sales at airports? :laugh:

That sounds more likely

Yes it won’t stop the dick heads
But imagine being a child on a flight and it all kicks off

Honestly we need to punish selfish people

Yeah people would just buy duty free spirits if this happened.

I would just be very severe with punishments like sheriff mentioned - banning people from flying for a long time. It's like with football matches how people drink plenty but most the time there's no serious incidents at the games themselves because people don't want to be banned from the grounds for years

Tbh it's always the same destinations where trouble occurs as well

Tbf I dont think he is going to sell any extra, once they have got around to serving all the passengers, they ask people to use the call bell if they want a second drink, nobody ever does, same with buying the scratch cards never see anyone buying one :laugh:

Prison time as we've seen is not feasible for just a "drunk and disorderly" (if they assault someone that's different) but I definitely agree with a travel ban, or rather, a flight ban. Shouldn't be allowed on flights of any kind internal or external.

There are "implications" when it comes to removing someone's passport and ability to leave the country... but certainly nothing to say that people have to be allowed on planes. If they want to go abroad, they can take the long way round on a boat / through the tunnel. Different ban lengths based on severity and a "two strikes" policy - if you serve a ban, get flight privileges back, and do the same thing again... then banned indefinitely. Maybe with some sort of appeal process in exceptional circumstances, but no maximum term.

dont need booze to have a good time

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m4eQ-i54AOw