Michael O’Leary, boss of Irish airline Ryanair, said he felt air travellers should not be allowed to simply consume as much alcohol as they wanted before a flight.
O’Leary proposed limiting passengers to two drinks at the airport in a bid to address what he described as a rise in antisocial behaviour and violence.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph on August 27, he said violent outbursts were now happening weekly, often fuelled by alcohol and especially when combined with other substances.
“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,” he said.
Flight delays, he said, added to the problem, meaning longer drinking times at airports.
Ryanair’s CEO added that it was challenging for airlines to identify intoxicated passengers at the gate, particularly when boarding as part of a group.
“As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through. Then when the plane takes off we see the misbehaviour.
“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,” O’Leary claimed.
“It’s the mix. You get much more aggressive behaviour that becomes very difficult to manage.”
Problems with inebriated passengers had already led to Ryanair staff searching bags before people were allowed to board flights to Ibiza. Other “party destinations” such as the Greek Islands were also affected by such passengers, he said.
An AirportsUK spokesperson said disruptive passenger behaviour, whether due to alcohol or other causes, was “unacceptable and could lead to substantial penalties”, BBC News reported.
These penalties include fines, boarding being refused, or up to two years in jail.
