The airline says a two-drink limit would result in a “safer travel experience for passengers and crews” and is calling for the change after a string of high-profile incidents involving alcohol

Ryanair has once again called for a two-drink limit per passenger at airport bars, claiming it would lead to “a safer travel experience for passengers and crews”.

The airline revealed last week that it has begun legal proceedings to recoup losses from unruly passengers as part of a “major misconduct clampdown”. It has launched a civil lawsuit against a passenger in Ireland, seeking 15,000 euros (£12,600) in damages related to a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote that was diverted to Porto in April last year. Ryanair argues the passenger’s behaviour was the cause of the diversion.

Ryanair has said that the 15,000 euros includes costs such as overnight accommodation for over 160 passengers and six crew members (7,000 euros or £5,900), landing and handling fees at Porto Airport (2,500 euros or £2,100), and Portuguese legal fees (2,500 euros or £2,100).

A spokesperson for Ryanair criticised European governments for what the airline sees as their “repeated failure to take action when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety and force them to divert. It is time that European Union 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. However, during flight delays, passengers are consuming excess alcohol at airports without any limit on purchase or consumption.”

“We fail to understand why passengers at airports are not limited to two alcoholic 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, and a safer travel experience for passengers and crews all over Europe.”

Ryanair has reiterated its call for a restriction on alcohol consumption at airports, proposing that travellers should be limited to two drinks. This initiative spearheaded by CEO Michael O’Leary, which he initially suggested in August last year, comes amid his reporting an uptick in unruly behaviour on flights.

Ryanair flights have been the location of unruly flare-ups in recent months. On one Ibiza flight last September, two passengers were escorted off the plane and taken into custody after a brawl allegedly broke out. In July last year, an officer was filmed removing men from a flight that had been bound for Lanzarote but was forced to turn back to its UK starting point somewhere over South Ayrshire.

Such issues has led to Mr O’Leary to call for alcohol limits at UK airports, where many Brits take part in the near-tradition of a pint or several before boarding their flight – regardless of the time they are jetting off.

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