by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 4:40 PM ET, Tue January 14, 2025
How many pre-flight alcoholic drinks is enough for airline passengers?
Ryanair is taking a stand on the issue and wants airport bars to serve no more than two alcoholic drinks to passengers in advance of a flight.
The move comes after a Ryanair flight that took off from Dublin bound for Lanzarote had to be diverted because of a disruptive passenger on board. The aircraft was rerouted to Porto, Portugal where the passenger was offloaded and arrested, the airline said in a press release.
What’s more, due to crew hours restrictions the aircraft, crew members and more than 160 passengers were forced to overnight in the Porto Airport, with the cost of accommodation, meals, and more being funded entirely by Ryanair.
The airline also had to provide an additional aircraft and crew to operate the delayed return flight from Lanzarote to Dublin
When all was said and done, the diversion ended up costing Ryanair thousands of dollars, which the airline detailed in its press release. The grand total for the diversion was about 15,000 pounds or about $15,400.
Those costs include such expenses as an estimated $800 dollars in excess fuel, $7,000 in passenger and crew overnight accommodations, and $2,5000 Porto airport landing/handling fees. The final tab also includes some $750 in loss of inflight sales and $1,800 for replacement crew, among other expenses.
“None of these costs would have been incurred if this disruptive passenger had not forced a diversion,” the airline said in a statement. “European Govts [SIC] repeatedly fail to take action when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety and force them to divert.”
The airline has since filed a civil suit against the passenger who caused the disruption, according to the Ryanair press release.
A Portuguese Prosecution has already ruled that because the aircraft and the passenger are Irish, the case should be transferred to Ireland, which Ryanair has done, initiating a civil proceeding in the Irish Courts to recover its costs.
"It is time that EU authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports. Airlines, like Ryanair, already restrict and limit the sale of alcohol on board our aircraft, particularly in disruptive passenger cases," Ryanair said in the release.
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