'After two, have a cup of tea': Ryanair boss demands airport booze crackdown amid spate of drunken onboard incidents

Published: 05:16 EST, 11 November 2026 | Updated: 05:17 EST, 11 November 2026 Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has called for a two-drink limit at airports, warning that excessive drinking is fuelling a rise in drunken passengers causing chaos on board flights.He wants travellers to show their boarding passes when ordering alcohol, allowing airport bars to track how much they have had before take-off.O'Leary has even suggested banning the traditional early-morning airport pint altogether.Speaking to Sky News this month, he said: 'We're not trying to block everybody from drinking but you should show your boarding pass and that should limit you to two alcoholic drinks at whatever time of the day it is.'And after two, have a cup of tea, have a cup of coffee.' Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has encouraged a two-drink limitHe added: 'When you have flight delays like we did this summer, people are drinking too much at the airport.'Mr O'Leary says the airports don't care, as they pass the problem onto the airlines. He cited a 'dramatic growth in misbehaviour of passengers on board aircraft'.On average one or two flights a week have been diverted due to such incidents, the Ryanair CEO said.He has been calling for a two-drink per-person limit 'for many years' and accused airports of 'profiteering' off the troublesome travel ritual and 'exporting the problem to the airlines'. There have been countless incidents of unruly passengers on planes reported. It comes amid a rise in rowdy, drunken instances on boardA rowdy Ryanair flight from Newcastle upon Tyne to Ibiza on April 26 this year descended into a mid-air party as dancing passengers ignored furious cabin crew. Passengers could be seen standing in the aisles dancing, laughing and drinking while cabin crew attempted to make their way through the plane. In another incident, a rowdy British stag party forced an easyJet flight to divert after they were seen vaping in their seats and abusing the cabin crew in May last year. And an airplane passenger allegedly vomited all over a family sitting near her before spitting wine on them and eventually passing out – on board a British Airways flight from Heathrow to San Diego last August.