EU airports may restrict the sale of alcohol to passengers: what is known about it

Tourists who like to drink before boarding a plane may be restricted from accessing alcohol at airports. The low-cost airline Ryanair has taken this initiative.

According to Euronews, the carrier complains that the problem of inappropriate behavior of drunken passengers on airplanes is only growing. Recently, Ryanair had to go to court to recover 15,000 euros from such a customer because they had to change the flight route.

"It is time for the EU authorities to take action to restrict the sale of alcohol at airports," the Irish airline said in a statement. According to Ryanair's management, a limit of two alcoholic beverages per passenger will reduce the level of drunken pranks on board, and thus travel safety in general. The company proposes to control the sale of alcohol by using boarding passes, as is the case with duty-free trade at airports.

The incident that prompted Ryanair to make such an appeal occurred in April 2024. One of the passengers on a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote drank too much alcohol before boarding and behaved so inappropriately that the plane had to change its route for safety reasons. The plane landed in Porto, Portugal, and the carrier had to pay for the overnight accommodation of the crew and more than 160 passengers. These and other related expenses were later recovered from the offender in court.

Ryanair also noted that they and other airlines already restrict the sale of alcohol on board. But they said that passengers can consume excessive amounts of alcohol at airports before boarding. This happens especially often during flight delays.

The aviation agency has long expressed concern about incidents that disrupt order during the flight, especially those that lead to violence against other passengers, verbal abuse, aggressive actions, or other health hazards such as smoking.

Although reports of unruly passengers on airplanes are still relatively infrequent, the number of reports of inappropriate behavior on airplanes has been increasing recently. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency notes that, although it cannot provide specific data, it has recorded an increase in the number of serious incidents since 2020.

According to the global statistics of the International Air Transport Association, in 2023, for every 480 flights, there was one case of serious disorderly conduct on board. The data is based on more than 24,500 reports and 50 operators worldwide. For comparison, in 2022, statistics showed one incident for every 568 flights. It is not known how many of these incidents were alcohol-related. However, aviation administrations and organizations have long called on passengers to consume alcohol responsibly at airports.

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