Ryanair calls for alcoholic drink limit at EU airports amid legal action against unruly passenger

A Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8 approaches for landing in Lisbon at sunrise, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Armando Franca, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Ryanair is calling on European authorities to limit the sale of alcoholic beverages at airports across the continent, as the Irish airline continues legal action against a passenger who it says caused a costly flight diversion last year.

The budget airline is seeking more than 15,000 euros ($15,324) in damages over the April 2024 incident. Ryanair alleges that this passenger’s “inexcusable behaviour” on a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote in Spain’s Canary Islands was so disruptive that it forced the aircraft to divert to Porto, Portugal for safety — where crew members and over 160 other passengers were later delayed overnight.

After announcing its civil suit against the passenger last week, Ryanair on Monday shared further information detailing the costs it incurred for excess fuel, lodging, legal fees and more as a result of this diversion. And the airline also suggested a drink limit for airports across the European Union.

“It is time that EU authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports,” Ryanair wrote in a statement. “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 noted that it and other airlines already limit alcohol sales in-flight — but said that passengers can still consume excess alcohol at airports before boarding, particularly during flight delays, without similar restrictions.

Aviation agencies have long expressed concern with disruptive, in-flight incidents — particularly those that result in violence against others on board, verbal abuse, harassment or other health hazards like smoking.

Although still rare, reports of unruly passengers seen on planes have recently been on the rise. When reached for comment Monday, a spokesperson for European Union Aviation Safety Agency noted that, while the agency could not provide specifics, “both the number and severity of incidents” have increased in Europe since 2020.

Worldwide, the International Air Transport Association found that there was one disruptive incident for every 480 flights in 2023 — the latest figures from the trade organization, which used data from more 24,500 reports and 50 operators worldwide. That’s up from one every 568 in 2022.

How many of those incidents involved alcohol was not immediately known. But, among efforts aimed at preventing in-flight disruptive behavior overall, the IATA and other aviation groups have previously underlined the importance of serving alcohol responsibly, not allowing travelers who are too intoxicated to board and participating in additional safety initiatives, like “One Too Many” in the U.K.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration reported that it received 2,102 reports of unruly passenger incidents last year, resulting in $7.5 million in fines levied. That incident count is up 1% from 2023, but still far below a 2021 peak of 5,973.

Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press