Airports should impose a two-drink limit to stop passenger violence on planes, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said.
He said that in-flight disorder has risen this summer with fights and attacks now occurring on a weekly basis.
Mr O’Leary said alcohol with “powder and tablets” is behind the rise in violence.
He added: “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 drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000 feet.”
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr O’Leary continued: “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.”
Ryanair now searches the bags of passengers heading to Ibiza before they can board their flight.
Mr O’Leary added: “We used to only allow them to take bottles of water on board, not realising that they were full of vodka. Now we don’t even allow them to take those.
“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.
“It’s the mix. You get much more aggressive behaviour that becomes very difficult to manage. And it’s not directed just at the crew. Passengers fighting with each other is now a growing trend on board the aircraft.”
The remarks come after a British holidaymakers convicted of sexually assaulting a flight attendant last month.
The incident occurred on a Ryanair flight from Newcastle to Majorca in 2023.
Sinead Quinn, in charge of Ryanair’s 14,000 cabin staff, said the airline has had to ban more and more passengers.
She added: “The UK Is most challenging, the regions in particular. But there’s no particular profile. You have groups of young people, but it can be families and those you least expect.”
Mr O’Learry continued: He said: “The biggest problem we have is when you have a day of bad delays. People are waiting around at airports and they keep lorrying alcohol into them.
“Most of our passengers show up an hour before departure. That’s sufficient for two drinks. But if your flight is delayed by two or three hours you can’t be guzzling five, six, eight, ten pints of beer. Go and have a coffee or a cup of tea. It’s not an alcoholics’ outing.
“What we’re asking for won’t affect profit. The bars can still sell their drinks and food. And yet government agencies in the UK and across Europe don’t take it seriously.”