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The biggest airline in Europe is cracking down on unruly passengers, fed up with travelers disrupting flights.
Ryanair revealed on Wednesday 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 be delayed overnight.
There were 160 passengers on board the disrupted flight back in April last year.
Ryanair said it had now filed legal proceedings in the Irish Circuit Court claiming the passenger’s disruptive behavior caused over $15,000 “in overnight accommodation, passenger expenses and landing costs.”
The company wants to recover these costs from the passenger.
The action also came with a warning to others who plan to fly with the ultra-low-cost carrier based out of Ireland – describing this move as part of a “major misconduct clampdown.”
“It is unacceptable that passengers – many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing Summer holiday – are suffering unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of one unruly passenger’s behavior,” a statement from Ryanair claimed.
Details of the unnamed passenger’s behavior were not provided.
“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 this action will deter further disruptive behavior on flights so that passengers and crew can 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 by three hours or more.
This includes free hotel accommodation, if necessary.
In August, outspoken Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary demanded airports limit passengers to two alcoholic drinks per boarding pass.
O’Leary claimed drunken passengers were not just falling over or asleep like they once were but because “tablets and powder” were in the mix, leading to “much more aggressive behavior” directed both at the crew and other passengers.
The CEO claimed attacks were happening weekly.
“Passengers fighting with each other is now a growing trend on board the aircraft,” O’Leary said.
Instances of wild behavior on flights across the world have been highlighted by videos uploaded to social media, often going viral on platforms like TikTok.
This has provided some disruptive passengers with unwanted fame.
In 2023, British man Piers Sawyer, 23, made global headlines after a steward was filmed catching him having sex in the toilet on an easyJet flight to Ibiza.
Even his mom spoke publicly about the “embarrassing” moment.
Also that year, Tiffany Gomas gained sudden notoriety when she was dubbed “Crazy Plane Lady” for a meltdown on an American Airlines flight.
Gomas was kicked off the plane.
The 40-year-old has given multiple interviews since and has garnered 162,000 Instagram followers.
Many other travelers, some never named publicly, have gone viral for public outbursts, brawls, exposing themselves or urinating on flights.
But the trouble is not just up in the air; popular tourist destinations across the world are also cracking down on disruptive tourists.
Viral videos of foreigners taking a dip in front of the San Michele Cemetery in Venice and climbing a statue to perform lewd poses in Florence aren’t helping ease growing tension between locals and tourists in some hotspots.
Visitors dining in the Spanish city of Barcelona were even squirted with water pistols last July.
