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Ryanair has called for airports to introduce tighter controls to stop drunk passengers from boarding flights. The Irish budget airline said that the problems caused by intoxicated flyers concern not only the company, but also cabin crew and the other passengers. Ryanair's call for tougher measures has been echoed by other airlines.
While cabin crew are trained to react to problems of all types, they often have to handle the drunken disturbances caused by a growing number of troublesome passengers as well.
"It would lead to safer and better passenger behaviour on board and make for a safer travel experience for passengers and crew staff across Europe," the Irish airline said in a statement.
Statistics support the airline's complaint. The number of diverted aircraft due to disruptive passengers has doubled between 2019 and 2024. The figures at Spanish airports, especially Alicante and Palma, are even higher.
In Spain, incidents increased from 338 in 2020 to 569 in 2021, some 1,361 in 2022 and around 1,500 in 2023 and 2024. According to AESA (the Spanish aviation safety agency) statistics, around three flight itineraries are altered every day due to inebriated passengers.
One of the latest 'alcohol-fuelled' incidents happened on a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Lanzarote. The plane had to be diverted to Porto in Portugal because of a disruptive passenger on board, where the individual was disembarked and detained. Despite this, due to schedule restrictions, the crew and more than 160 passengers were forced to stay at Porto airport overnight. The airline company was the one forced pay the costs of accommodation, meals and other necessities during the unplanned stay. The situation has started to frustrate the airlines. Ryanair has asked the passenger to pay a 15,000-euro-fine and is now raising its concerns with the airports, asking that their management teams "restrict the sale of alcoholic beverages."
The body that coordinates all airport authorities (ACI) has responded to the flight operators with the message: "Airlines already have the right to refuse boarding to any inebriated passenger. Do not pass on your responsibility to us," it said. It also dismissed the use of breathalysers at the airport as a feeble measure. "The 'breathalyser' is ineffective if, once on board, passengers still have access to alcohol, which, by the way, is the most profitable feature for airlines when they are in the air," it stated.
Despite the increase in incidents in recent years, the ACI said that "this issue is limited to a small number of passengers and alcohol screening is a measure that unnecessarily penalises holidaymakers and other people travelling by air."
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