Ryanair CEO, Michael O'Leary, has called for a two-drinks per-passenger limit at airport bars to combat drunken disorder on flights and at airports.
He said violent outbursts were occurring weekly due to alcohol, especially when it was mixed with other substances.
"We don't want to begrudge people having a drink," he told the Daily Telegraph. "But we don't allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33 000ft."
O’Leary said crew members and other passengers had become targets. Flight delays also add to the problem, with longer drinking times at airports.
"In the old days, people who drank too much would eventually fall over or fall asleep. But now those passengers are also on tablets and powder," he added.
"It's the mix. You get much more aggressive behaviour that becomes very difficult to manage."
O'Leary said it was difficult for airlines to identify inebriated people at the gate, especially when they boarded in a group.
"As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through. Then when the plane takes off, we see the misbehaviour," he said.
Ryanair staff search bags for alcohol before passengers board flights to Ibiza, one of the worst-affected ‘party destinations’. Other challenging destinations include some of the Greek islands.
KLM recently said it had seen a 100% increase in unruly passenger numbers compared with 2019, adding that “alcohol played a role in more than half of cases”.
According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, drunkenness on an aircraft may lead to a fine up to £5 000 (R116 360) and two years in prison.
