Ryanair introduces €500 fines for disruptive passengers
By Neil Lancefield, PA Transport Correspondent
Disruptive Ryanair passengers removed from planes will be fined €500, the airline has announced.
The carrier said this will be the “minimum” punishment, and it will continue to pursue passengers for civil damages.
Ryanair expressed hope that the new policy will “act as a deterrent to eliminate this unacceptable behaviour”.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “It is unacceptable that passengers are made to suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passenger’s behaviour.
“To help ensure that our passengers and crew travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers, we have introduced a £500 fine, which will be issued to any passengers offloaded from aircraft as a result of their misconduct.
“While these are isolated events which happen across all airlines, disruptive behaviour in such a confined shared space is unacceptable.”
Ryanair has repeatedly called for a limit of two alcoholic drinks per passenger to be introduced at airport bars in response to an increase in disorder on flights.
It claims this would result in “a safer travel experience for passengers and crews”.
Passengers disrupting flights can cause aircraft to be diverted, which often costs the airline thousands of pounds.
Ryanair announced in January it had started taking legal action to recover losses from disruptive passengers, as part of what it described as a “major misconduct clampdown”.
It said it filed civil legal proceedings against a passenger in Ireland to seek €15,000 in damages related to a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote, which diverted to Porto in April last year.
Ryanair contends the passenger’s behaviour caused the diversion.
It said the €15,000 consists of costs such as overnight accommodation for the more than 160 passengers and six crew members (€7,000), Porto airport landing and handling fees (€2,500) and Portuguese legal fees (€2,500).
