Ryanair threatens ‘unruly' holidaymakers with £500 fines
Ryanair has threatened 'unruly' holidaymakers who disrupt flights with £500 fines amid rising concerns about drunken behaviour.
The budget airline on Thursday said the 'major conduct clampdown' was aimed at a small minority of passengers who cause trouble at the expense of everyone else on board.
It said anyone thrown off a flight would now be hit with a £500 fine as a minimum, with the carrier then pursuing them for damages.
A Ryanair spokesman added: 'It is unacceptable that passengers are made to suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passenger's behaviour.
'While these are isolated events which happen across all airlines, disruptive behaviour in such a confined shared space is unacceptable, and we hope that our proactive approach will act as a deterrent to eliminate this unacceptable behaviour onboard our aircraft.'
The airline has been campaigning for tougher curbs on the sale of alcoholic drinks at airports in the past year, with Michael O'Leary, the chief executive, warning of a rise in disorder.
Last year, a Ryanair flight was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Tenerife after several passengers became unruly, with one reportedly urinating in the aisle.
In April, police also dragged a woman off a plane that had to be diverted to Bologna, Italy, following 'disruptive' behaviour, including a reported fight between passengers.
Ryanair has accused European governments of failing to act 'when disruptive passengers threaten aircraft safety and force them to divert'.
Mr O'Leary has called for passengers to be limited to two alcoholic drinks each at airports.
On Thursday, a spokesman for the airline said: 'To help ensure that our passengers and crew travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers, we have introduced a £500 fine, which will be issued to any passengers offloaded from aircraft as a result of their misconduct.'
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