Aviation – Ryanair boss complains about increasing problems with drunk passengers
dpa/Florian Gaertner
Audio: Fritz | 28.08.2024 | Timo Mascheski | Image: dpa/Florian Gaertner
The head of the budget airline Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has complained about a sharp increase in problems with drunk passengers. “As with most other airlines, we have also seen a significant increase in bad passenger behaviour, particularly on longer holiday flights this summer,” the Irishman said on Wednesday.
He called on authorities to introduce restrictions on the sale of alcohol at airports. Travellers should be able to buy a maximum of two drinks at the airport per boarding pass, O’Leary told the British newspaper “The Telegraph” [Bezahlinhalt].
Cases of violence have increased sharply this summer, with attacks occurring almost weekly.
Drunk people are not easy to identify in advance
“It’s not that easy for airlines to identify drunk people at the gate, especially if they’re boarding with two or three others,” O’Leary said. “As long as they can stand and move, they get through. It’s only when the plane takes off that misbehavior occurs.”
He doesn’t want to ban anyone from drinking. “But we don’t allow people to drive drunk, and yet we keep putting them on airplanes at 33,000 feet,” O’Leary said.
Alcohol-related incidents are particularly common on flights from the UK to destinations known as party spots, such as Ibiza or some Greek islands. In July, a British tourist was given a suspended sentence for sexual assault after groping a flight attendant on a Ryanair flight from Newcastle to Mallorca.
The hand luggage of passengers flying to Ibiza is therefore searched, said O’Leary. This is because previously it was permitted to take water bottles on board – but these were filled with vodka. Since then, taking them on board has been prohibited.
Ryanair boss: Passengers mixed alcohol with harder drugs
Another reason for the increase is the combination of alcohol with “tablets and powder,” said O’Leary, referring to other drugs such as cocaine. But there are also problems on flights from Ireland or Germany.
The most difficult days are days with a lot of delays. “People hang around the airports and drink alcohol.” It is better to spend the waiting time drinking coffee or tea. “This is not an alcoholic outing.” His request has no effect on the revenue of the airport bars, O’Leary assured.
According to German case law, an airline can refuse to carry passengers who are heavily intoxicated. In a ruling by the Munich District Court in 2019 [lto.de] A heavily drunk couple were excluded from a long-haul flight because they were unfit to fly.
Broadcast: Fritz, 28.8.2024, 16:30
