Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has said that airports should be banned from serving alcohol to passengers in the early hours before flights, amid a rise in disruptive behaviour on board aircraft.
He said stricter controls on drinking at airports would help reduce incidents that increasingly force airlines to divert flights, adding that passenger disruption had become a growing operational problem for the industry.
In comments to The Times, Mr O’Leary said Ryanair was now forced to divert “an average of nearly one flight every day” due to unruly passenger behaviour — compared with around one a week a decade ago.
“It’s becoming a real challenge for all airlines,” he said. “I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning. Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?”
Airside bars at UK airports are not subject to the same licensing-hour restrictions that apply to many onshore venues, allowing alcohol to be served throughout the night and early morning.
Mr O’Leary argued this gap should be closed, calling for a blanket ban on alcohol sales outside standard licensing hours.
“There should be no alcohol served at airports outside those licensing hours,” he said.
He also suggested a two-drink limit for passengers at airports, arguing that airlines are often left to deal with the consequences of excessive drinking before boarding.
Mr O’Leary said airlines such as Ryanair already impose their own limits on alcohol consumption on board, typically restricting passengers to no more than two drinks.
However, he argued that responsibility was being undermined by airport operators prioritising bar revenue.
“We are reasonably responsible, but the ones who are not responsible, the ones who are profiteering off it, are the airports,” he said.
“They have these bars open at five or six o’clock in the morning and during delays are quite happy to send these people as much alcohol as they want because they know they’re going to export the problem to the airlines.”
The comments come as Ryanair continues efforts to clamp down on disruptive passengers, including legal action to recover costs from incidents that result in diversions.
Being drunk on an aircraft is a criminal offence and can carry penalties of up to £5,000 and two years in prison.
In January last year, the airline launched legal proceedings in Ireland against a passenger it accused of causing a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote to divert, seeking €15,000 (£12,500) in damages.
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