Ryanair calls for a “Two Drink Limit” at Airports

Over the past two years or so, there’s been an up-tick on alcohol fuelled incidents on a plane or at an airport.

According the BBC, a  total of 387 people were arrested for the period  between February 2016 and February 2017.

This up from 255 arrests made in the previous year.

Ryanair has come up with some suggestions to curb the rise:

These include:

• Banning the sale of all alcohol in bars and restaurants before 10am.
• Introducing the mandatory use of boarding cards when purchasing alcoholic drinks in bars and restaurants (in the same way a boarding card is needed for airport purchases) and limiting the number of drinks per boarding pass to a maximum of two.
• Controlling the sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants to passengers during flight delays by limiting the number of drinks per boarding pass to a maximum of two.

The airline has taken additional measures on its own services with

• Passengers Glasgow Prestwick and Manchester to Alicante and Ibiza are no longer allowed to bring alcohol into the cabin, and must either put it in the hold or leave their purchases at the airport.
• Banning passengers from consuming purchased duty free products on board.

In theory, a good idea to cap the amount of alcohol – but again, its a few individuals who are ruining the airport and in-flight experience  it for everyone, who want to drink the departure and flight away.

Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs states:

“It’s completely unfair that airports can profit from the unlimited sale of alcohol to passengers and leave the airlines to deal with the safety consequences. This is a particular problem during flight delays when airports apply no limit to the sale of alcohol in airside bars and restaurants. This is an issue which the airports must now address and we are calling for significant changes to prohibit the sale of alcohol at airports, particularly with early morning flights and when flights are delayed.

As the largest airline in Europe, Ryanair’s number one priority is the safety of our customers, crew and aircraft and we operate strict guidelines for the carriage of customers who are disruptive or appear to be under the influence of alcohol. Given that all our flights are short-haul, very little alcohol is actually sold on board, so it’s incumbent on the airports to introduce these preventative measures to curb excessive drinking and the problems it creates, rather than allowing passengers to drink to excess before their flights.”

Hmm. It goes without saying that Ryanair does have an on-board bar on all its services, and stands to make a nice boost.

Jet2 has banned alcohol sales on its flights before 8am in an effort to curb issues on-board their services

Different aviation authorities have different rules regarding the serving of alcohol in the sky. There is a voluntary code of conduct .

If this is making a dot of difference is another matter.

But if you are going to drink before a flight – or even during a flight – moderation is key.

Don’t drink like it’s the last time you will. Or drink because everything in the lounge is free. Or drink because you’re afraid to fly.

A little control will go a long way in the air… and maybe make the skies more pleasant for your fellow passengers and crew.

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