Ryanair takes legal action against passengers to ‘fight inappropriate behavior’

Ryanair has announced it has begun legal action to recover damages for disrupting passengers.

The airline describes the policy as a “serious misconduct crackdown”.

The company said it had launched legal action against an Irish passenger seeking compensation for €15,000 (£12,500) in damages related to a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote in April last year.

Ryanair said the passenger’s behavior forced the flight to be diverted to Porto, where it was delayed overnight, causing 160 passengers to “face unnecessary disruption and lose a full day’s holiday”.

The airline called the passenger’s behavior “inexcusable” and “completely unacceptable”.

The €15,000 figure is said to have come from overnight accommodation, passenger fees and landing charges.

Ryanair said it was the first time it had brought civil proceedings against disruptive passengers in Ireland.

The airline announced a strict zero-tolerance policy for passenger misconduct, adding it “will continue to take decisive action against unruly passenger behavior on board our aircraft”.

Last August, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary told The Daily Telegraph that airport bars should limit alcoholic drinks to two drinks per passenger to tackle confusion on flights.

Jet2.com The airline said it had taken civil action against the disruptive passengers.

In February 2017, the airline said a court ruled in its favor after an aggressive drunk passenger caused a flight from Glasgow to Ibiza to be diverted to Toulouse.

EasyJet’s policy is understood to be to push for criminal prosecution and ban disruptive passengers from future flights, rather than initiating civil proceedings.

Airlines must provide passengers with care during flight delays, including food, drinks and overnight accommodation.