Ryanair sues ‘unruly’ passenger who forced flight to divert in ‘major misconduct clampdown’
8 January 2025, 19:56
Ryanair is suing a disruptive passenger for 15,000 euros (£12,500) in damages for their ‘inexcusable’ behaviour after they forced the plane to divert.
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Ryanair claims the ‘unruly’ passenger forced the Dublin to Lanzarote flight to divert to Porto, where all 160 passengers were held for a night.
The airline said on Wednesday that it has filed legal proceedings against the passenger, who has not been identified, in Dublin’s Circuit Court for their ‘inexcusable’ and ‘completely unacceptable’ behaviour.
It said damages will cover the cost of all the passengers’ overnight accommodation in Porto as well as other expenses it incurred, as other holidaymakers were forced to "face unnecessary disruption as well as losing a full day of their holiday".
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “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 behaviour.
“Yet this was regrettably the case for passengers on this flight from Dublin to Lanzarote last April, which was forced to divert to Porto as a result of an individual passenger’s disruptive behaviour, causing €15,000 in overnight accommodation, passenger expenses, and landing costs.”
Ryanair said this incident, which took place last April, is its first civil case against a disruptive passenger in Ireland.
It is part of a new policy for the airline which will see it take legal action to recover losses against disruptive passengers, in what it called a "major misconduct clampdown".
The airline said it has a strict zero-tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct, adding it "will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour on aircraft".
In August last year, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told the Daily Telegraph that a limit of two alcoholic drinks per passenger should be introduced at airport bars to tackle disorder on flights.
Airline Jet2.com said it already takes civil action against disruptive passengers.
In February 2017, the carrier said a court judgment was awarded in its favour after an aggressive, drunken passenger caused a flight from Glasgow to Ibiza to be diverted to Toulouse.
It is understood easyJet's policy is to push for criminal prosecutions and to ban disruptive passengers from future flights, rather than to launch civil proceedings.
Airlines are required to provide care to passengers during flight delays, which can include food, drinks and overnight accommodation.
