European Union laws should limit passengers to two alcoholic drinks at airports to counter disruption on flights, according to airline Ryanair.
The Irish group is suing a passenger to recover the €15,350 bill it incurred last April when the person’s behaviour forced a Dublin-Lanzarote flight to divert overnight to Portugal.
Ryanair demanded that the European Union (EU) act to limit the sale of alcohol at airports to two drinks per person.
Airlines already restrict the sale of alcohol on board aircraft, particularly to disruptive passengers, the carrier pointed out.
“However, during flight delays, passengers are consuming excess alcohol at airports without any limit on purchase or consumption,” said a spokeswoman.
“We fail to understand why passengers at airports are not limited to two 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.”
However, Graeme McQueen, head of media relations at DAA, said the State company did not see the need for such restrictions at Cork and Dublin airports, which it runs.
“The average alcohol consumption per passenger visiting one of our bars is the equivalent of less than half a pint of beer, so it’s not an issue for us,” he added.
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A passenger’s behaviour forced Ryanair to divert its Dublin-Lanzarote flight on April 9th last year to Porto where the individual was offloaded and arrested.
The airline was left with a €15,350 bill that included €7,000 for overnight accommodation for more than 160 passengers and six crew, €2,500 in Porto Airport charges, the same amount in legal fees and €1,800 replacement crew costs.
“None of these costs would have been incurred if this disruptive passenger had not forced a diversion to Porto in order to protect the safety of the aircraft, 160 passengers and six crew members on board,” Ryanair noted.
Portuguese prosecutors ruled that the case should be transferred to the Republic as the passenger and aircraft were Irish.
“Ryanair is therefore taking a civil proceeding against this passenger in the Irish courts to recover these costs, which were incurred wholly and exclusively as a result of the disruptive passenger’s behaviour,” said the airline.
The company argues that European governments fail to act when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety.
Ryanair indicated last week that it was considering legal action against passengers in other similar cases.
A week before Christmas an Athens court fined a passenger €400 and gave the individual a five-month suspended jail sentence.
The passenger had disrupted a flight to the Greek capital by refusing to follow crew instructions.
Ryanair welcomed the decision saying that it demonstrated that the “tiny number of passengers that disrupt flights will face consequences for their unruly behaviour”.
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