Ryanair calls for two-drink limit for airport alcohol

Budget carrier Ryanair has called for a two-drink limit at airports after a surge in airborne hooliganism linked to alcohol. A BBC Panorama investigation found the number of passengers arrested for drunken behaviour on British flights had risen 50 per cent in the past 12 months. It cited Civil Aviation Authority figures that disruptive passenger incidents in the UK had risen by 600 per cent between 2012 and 2016, with most involving alcohol. READ: Disgust in the cabin as drunken passenger strips off and lights up. The program cited examples of fights on aircraft and abuse of cabin crew, particularly on flights to popular holiday destinations such as the island of Ibiza. Ryanair blamed the problem on people drinking to excess at airports before their flights rather than passengers over-indulging on aircraft. It called on airports to ban the sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants before 10 am, introduce the mandatory use of boarding cards for alcohol purchases and limit the number of drinks to two. The airline said it had already introduced measures to prevent disruptive behaviour on UK flights by banning customers from drinking their own duty-free on board. Customers flying from Glasgow Prestwick and Manchester to Alicante and Ibiza were no longer permitted to bring duty free alcohol on board the aircraft and were asked to either put it in the hold or leave it behind. "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,’’ Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said. ”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.’’ Britain’s Airport Operators’ Association told the BBC program that it did not accept that airports sold alcohol irresponsibly.