Ryanair calls for two-drink rule
Ryanair is calling on UK airports to prevent excessive drinking by passengers following a marked rise in drunken behaviour on flights since 2012.
Measures proposed by Ryanair include banning the sale of all alcohol in airport bars and restaurants before 10am, introducing the mandatory use of boarding cards to buy drinks and limiting the number to a maximum of two per passenger.
Ryanair claims it had already taken a number of measures to prevent disruptive behaviour on its UK flights, including banning passengers from consuming their own duty-free purchases on board.
Customers flying from Glasgow Prestwick and Manchester to Alicante and Ibiza are no longer permitted to take duty-free alcohol on board the aircraft. Instead, they are asked to put it in the hold.
Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said:"It’s completely unfair that airports can profit from the unlimited sale of alcohol to passengers and leave the airlines to deal with the safety consequences.
"This is a particular problem during flight delays when airports apply no limit to the sale of alcohol in airside bars and restaurants.
"This is an issue which the airports must now address and we are calling for significant changes to prohibit the sale of alcohol at airports, particularly with early morning flights and when flights are delayed.
"As the largest airline in Europe, Ryanair’s number one priority is the safety of our customers, crew and aircraft and we operate strict guidelines for the carriage of customers who are disruptive or appear to be under the influence of alcohol.
"Given that all our flights are short-haul, very little alcohol is actually sold on board, so it’s incumbent on the airports to introduce these preventative measures to curb excessive drinking and the problems it creates, rather than allowing passengers to drink to excess before their flights."
Ryanair claims CAA figures reveal a 600% rise in disruptive behaviour on flights between 2012 and 2016. In a recent survey, Unite the union said 87% of cabin crew working for British-based airlines had witnessed drunken behaviour on flights or at airports.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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