LAST UPDATE | 9 May

FOR MANY PEOPLE heading off on holiday, a drink at the airport is a sign that the trip has officially started. 

For Michael O’Leary, not so much. 

The Ryanair boss has called for a ban on serving alcohol at airport bars before morning flights as a way to tackle bad passenger behaviour, saying that the problem has become much worse. 

His airline was having to divert almost one aircraft a day because of passengers becoming disruptive after a few too many.

“I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning,” he told The Times. “Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?”

With this in mind, we asked our readers how they felt about early-morning drinks in airports and whether they have ever had a bad experience with a drunken passenger. 

While some responses did outline seeing passengers drinking excessively both before and on flights, most disagreed with the idea that prohibiting the sale of alcohol before a certain time would actually stop passengers from being disruptive.

Our thanks to everyone who got in touch. Here’s what you told us.

‘It was a very uncomfortable flight’

One Waterford woman in her 40s said she was recently on an early morning, midweek Ryanair flight where a group of young men in their 20s were sitting nearby.

“They had purchased large bottles of spirits in duty free and opened them just as the plane took off. The cabin crew provided them with plastic cups to drink from,” she said.

“They proceed to get very drunk, swapping seats and singing loud misogynistic songs. The cabin crew did nothing to stop them and even enjoyed banter with them. It was a very uncomfortable flight.”

The woman said banning alcohol for everyone “is not the answer”, but she would be in favour of a limit per passenger. 

Caroline from Cork told us that for many people, having a few drinks before boarding with a bite to eat marks the start of a trip, but that it’s the “excessive, carry-on drinking” that’s a problem. 

“I’ve experienced it myself, turning up for an early morning flight, looking for some breakfast and walking into what felt like a nightclub at 5am,” she said.

The place was packed with groups knocking back Jägerbombs and rounds of shots, drinking spirits, already clearly drunk. It wasn’t just lively, it was loud, messy and honestly a bit intimidating.

She said that when she asked the bartender about food, they said that most of those drinking would be gone by 6am and suggested they come back then.

“That kind of says everything. While some people are just starting their day, others are at the height of a night out that never actually ended,” she said. 

“It completely changes the atmosphere. You end up quietly hoping they’re not on your flight, because being stuck in a cabin with heavily drunk passengers isn’t really ideal for anyone.”

‘The holiday begins with a pint’

Sean, who is from Dublin but lives in Amsterdam, said he was recently on a KLM flight back to Ireland where a young man was “visibly hammered and was stumbling trying to find his seat”.

The 29-year-old said the cabin crew picked up on this immediately and after checking on the man twice before take off, “he admitted having a space cake, drinks earlier in the day and more drinks in the airport”. 

He said the captain also came out to check if the man would be able to fly, and once it was deemed that he could, the cabin crew asked the woman next to the man if she would mind moving to another free seat to give him more space.

“They constantly checked on the man throughout the flight and topped up his water a few times,” he said. “I thought the entire crew handled it expertly, but no doubt it added extra workload for them.”

A man who was recently in Cork Airport at 5.30am said he saw four young men buy two bottles of vodka and drink them in a café. “No one said anything to them. They were drunk.” 

For Kieran from Cavan, “the holiday begins with a pint at the airport and I don’t care what time it is”.

He cited “the stress of getting all the family up, the two-hour drive” and worrying about the car breaking down on the way.

I doubt Micheal O’Leary will stop selling his warm 330ml cans for €6.50, so why should he have a say what goes on in the airport?

“I’ve never seen anyone out of order on a plane leaving Dublin,” the 45-year-old said. 

Another man said that “apart from the obvious drunken behaviour”, what annoys him is “the multiple bathroom visits by someone who has consumed a skinful at the bar, especially if you are in the aisle seat and they are at a window seat”.

‘Don’t restrict pints over a few bad apples’

A person who wished to remain anonymous described O’Leary’s comments as “more bully tactics from corporations who like behaving like dictators”.

They said banning people from drinking before early flights “won’t fix abusive people during regular hours” and suggested that all airlines should adopt a no-fly list for anyone who has been removed from a plane for being disruptive. 

“If they can’t fly on any airline for 5 or 10 years, that might concentrate minds! Restricting rights for all of us, because of a small few bad apples, is not the answer here.”

They said that early morning pints “are actually quite a lifesaver” and that it “lessens the misery” of having to go through the airport.

“Not excusing the troublemakers, but it’s no wonder people drink too much in airports already,” they added. 

Another anonymous reader, who said they worked as a pilot for 20 years, said “no one except alcoholics need a drink before sundown”. They said they had been through hundreds of airports in Europe and worldwide and “you only see people smashing pints in Ireland, Scotland and Northern England before lunch”.

Criticising O’Leary’s comments, they said the Ryanair boss would happily sell anything to his passengers once it makes a profit. “He’s only complaining because of the cost of a diversion due to a drunk/abusive passenger, which is tens of thousands of euros.

How can you ply people with booze at exorbitant prices constantly and then complain they are drunk? Choose profit or placid passengers.

Some quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.