Ryanair is launching a legal bid to reclaim thousands of Euros from an unruly passenger who forced a flight from Dublin to the Spanish holiday island of Lanzarote to make an emergency diversion to Portugal so police could haul the suspect off the plane.
As well as criminal prosecution, the unruly passenger is now facing a civil case from Ryanair, which is demanding the suspect repay €15,000 for losses stemming from the diversion, as well as assistance it had to provide to all the other passengers onboard the plane.
After Flight FR712 diverted to Porto on April 9, 2024, Ryanair was compelled under European air passenger rights rules to find hotel accommodation for all 160 passengers, provide them with food and drink, and cover other essential expenses.
The airline was also made to cover landing costs in Porto and pay for extra fuel.
The actual bill that Ryanair faced from this incident would have run into the tens of thousands of Euros, although the airline is only seeking to reclaim a small portion of that bill from the suspect.
“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,” slammed a Ryanair spokesperson after the civil case was filed in the Irish Circuit Court in Dublin.
Commenting on the case, the spokesperson continued: “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 behaviour on flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment.”
Last month, Ryanair publicly welcomed a ruling from a Greek court to sentence another unruly passenger to a five-month suspended sentence and a €400 fine, following an incident aboard a Ryanair flight to Athens in July 2020.
Outspoken Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has blamed excessive drinking culture for many of the disruptive passenger woes the airline is facing, saying last year that airports should impose a two drink limit on passengers before they board a plane.
“We don’t want to begrudge people having a drink. But we don’t allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000 feet,” commented O’Leary, who also suggested that problems were being exacerbated by some passengers taking illegal drugs ahead of their flight.
Ryanair is now reportedly dealing with at least one serious incident assault per week, a dramatic increase from the number of incidents it was facing a decade ago.
Flights from the UK to party destinations like Ibiza and the Greek islands are, according to O’Leary, particularly prone to trouble.
