A former Ryanair captain, Brian Smith, has disclosed the most troublesome routes for inebriated British flyers shortly after Ryanair‘s current CEO, Michael O’Leary, urged for a two-drink limit at UK airports.
Smith, who exited the airline earlier this year, pinpointed routes to party destinations like Ibiza and Majorca as particular hotspots for such disruptive passengers. According to him, flights originating from Glasgow and Manchester were especially problematic.
He told the Telegraph, “Some locations are worse than others the Manchester and Glasgow departures were particularly bad. I don’t want to point the finger at people regionally… but that is true you know.”
Contrary to what might be expected, Smith indicated that it wasn’t stag or hen parties that were the worst offenders, but rather couples. He said; “When one or both of them have been drinking hard, quite often this undercurrent of what was p*****g them off earlier comes out.”
Manchester Airport stressed that drunkenness at the airport can be “disruptive and potentially dangerous” and warned that passengers could be denied boarding and could cause a plane to divert.
Meanwhile, Ryanair boss Mr O’Leary has proposed a restriction on alcohol consumption at airports due to a feared uptick in unruly behaviour during flights, citing a dangerous cocktail of drink, “powder and tablets” as a key catalyst, reports the Express.
Speaking about the challenges of dealing with inebriated passengers, O’Leary told the Telegraph, “It’s not that easy for airlines to identify people who are inebriated at the gate, particularly if they are boarding with two or three others. As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through.”
“Then when the plane takes off we see the misbehaviour. We don’t want to begrudge people having a drink. But we don’t allow people to drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000 feet.”
“The airports of course are opposed to it and say that their bars don’t serve drunken passengers. But they do serve the relatives of the drunken passenger…In the old days, people who drank too much would eventually fall over or fall asleep. But now those passengers are also on tablets and powder.”
Following Mr O’Leary’s call for a limit on drinks at airports, Wetherspoons owner Sir Tim Martin has waded into the conversation to dismiss the two-drink limit proposal.
Sir Tim also told the Telegraph that his pubs had received “no complaints…from the airport authorities or airlines…in recent years. …If our pub teams do see a possibly disruptive passenger, they alert airport police and security.”
On the actions of some disruptive passengers, a spokesperson for AirportsUK told the BBC that such behaviour “is unacceptable”.
They added: “Airports are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable travel experience for all passengers and we’re pleased that the vast majority of travellers continue to enjoy their journeys responsibly.”
A Manchester Airport spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News: “Drunkenness at the airport can be disruptive and potentially dangerous.
“That’s why we are part of the One Too Many Campaign that highlights to passengers the risks of drinking to excess when travelling by air – these include being denied boarding and causing a plane to be diverted, which can in turn lead to a prison sentence, heavy fines and diversion fees.
“Our bars and restaurants are part of this campaign and are empowered to report drunken behaviour in order to protect other passengers from disruption.”
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