Ryanair Bans Water Bottles as Alcohol-Related Incidents Surge on Flights

Ryanair passengers will no longer be allowed to board with a bottle, even of water. "We used to allow them before, without realizing that they were actually full of vodka," lamented Michael O’Leary on Wednesday during a press conference. The Ryanair CEO has made it known that the incivilities caused by passengers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs are on a "notable increase". "Alcohol is a recurring problem," confirms Léa*, a flight attendant for a French company, to Le Parisien. The "PAXI", code name for "unruly passenger", is a nightmare, she estimates. To support her point, Léa says she faced a difficult situation during a flight to Morocco. A man had drunk before boarding. "He seemed nice enough, so the ground staff let him through." According to her account, just after takeoff, the passenger took out a 1.5 liter bottle of whiskey from his bag. This was followed by "hell" that lasted three hours. "He refused to put it away, we finally confiscated it to give it back to him at the end," sighs Léa. According to her, the passenger was disrespectful to the flight attendants, before calming down under the pressure of his neighbors.

At the beginning of July, a Ryanair flight between Agadir (Morocco) and London (United Kingdom) did not go as planned. The plane had to land in Marrakech, less than an hour after takeoff due to a general brawl between passengers. These incidents are legion. Léa says she has seen this type of incivility explode, especially on low-cost routes. The latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) confirm: a 67% increase in incidents was recorded over one year, between 2022 and 2021. The CEO of Ryanair then calls "on the authorities to limit the amount of alcohol that can be served in European airports to a maximum of two drinks per passenger". According to him, this measure will help limit bad behavior (insults, blows, fights, sexist remarks or refusal to fasten seatbelts...)

*First name changed