Europe’s biggest airline is cracking down on unruly passengers fed up with passengers disrupting flights.
Ryanair revealed on Wednesday that it had decided to sue a passenger for just over $15,000 after a flight from Dublin to the Spanish island of Lanzarote was forced to divert to Porto, Portugal and was delayed overnight.
There were 160 passengers on board the aborted flight in April last year.
Ryanair said it had now launched legal proceedings in the Irish District Court claiming the disruptive behavior of the passenger caused over $15,000 “in overnight accommodation, passenger expenses and landing costs”.
The company wants to recover these costs from the passenger.
The move also came with a warning to others planning to fly with the ultra-cost carrier based out of Ireland – describing the move as part of a “major crackdown on bad behaviour”.
“It is unacceptable that passengers – many of whom are jetting off with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday – are suffering unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of a passenger’s unruly behaviour,” it said in a statement. statement from Ryanair.
Details of the unidentified passenger’s behavior have not been released.
“This demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy and we hope that this action will deter further disruptive behavior on flights so that passengers and crew to be able to travel in a comfortable and respectful environment,” the statement continued.
In the EU, passengers are entitled to compensation for flights that are canceled or delayed for three hours or more.
This includes free hotel accommodation if required.
In August, outspoken Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary demanded that airports limit passengers to two alcoholic drinks per boarding pass.
O’Leary claimed that intoxicated passengers were not just falling or sleeping like they used to, but because “pills and powder” were in the mix, leading to “much more aggressive behaviour” directed at both crew and other passengers.
The CEO claimed that the attacks were happening every week.
“Passengers fighting each other is now a growing trend on board aircraft,” O’Leary said.
Cases of outrageous behavior on flights around the world have been highlighted by videos uploaded to social media, often going viral on platforms such as TikTok.
This has given some disruptive passengers unwanted fame.
In 2023, Briton Piers Sawyer, 23, made global headlines after a flight attendant was filmed having sex in the toilet on an easyJet flight to Ibiza.
Even his mother spoke publicly about the “shameful” moment.
Also that year, Tiffany Gomas gained sudden fame when she was dubbed the “Crazy Airplane Lady” for a meltdown on an American Airlines flight.
Gomas fell from the plane.
The 40-year-old has given many interviews since then and has amassed 162,000 followers on Instagram.
Many other travelers, some of whom were never named publicly, have gone viral for public outbursts, fights, exposure or urinating on flights.
But trouble isn’t just in the air; popular tourist destinations around the world are also hitting disruptive tourists.
Viral videos of foreigners diving in front of the San Michele cemetery in Venice and climbing a statue to perform lewd poses in Florence are not helping to ease the growing tension between locals and tourists in some hotspots.
Guests dining in the Spanish city of Barcelona were even doused with water pistols last July.
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