For many British travellers, grabbing a drink in an airport bar before dawn has long been part of the holiday or weekend getaway ritual. But O’Leary believes that habit is increasingly causing problems in the skies, and he is now pushing for tougher limits on when and how alcohol is served in airports.
Speaking to The Times, he questioned the logic of early-morning drinking culture in travel hubs, saying: “I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning. Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?”
More diversions, more disruption
According to O’Leary, the issue is not theoretical but operational. He claims Ryanair is now forced to divert nearly one flight per day due to unruly passenger behaviour — a sharp increase compared with roughly one diversion a week a decade ago.
That rise, he suggests, is linked in part to alcohol consumption before boarding and during airport delays, where passengers may continue drinking before stepping onto aircraft.
He added: “It’s becoming a real challenge for all airlines.”
Calls for stricter airport controls
Unlike pubs and restaurants on the high street, airport bars in the UK are not bound by the same licensing restrictions on opening hours. That regulatory gap, O’Leary argues, allows alcohol to be served at times when passengers are preparing to fly.
“There should be no alcohol served at airports outside [those] licensing hours,” he said, also proposing a two-drink limit for passengers before boarding.
While Ryanair itself reportedly limits onboard alcohol service to around two drinks per passenger, O’Leary criticised what he sees as inconsistent responsibility across the travel industry.
“We are reasonably responsible, but the ones who are not responsible… are the airports who have these bars open at five or six o’clock in the morning and during delays are quite happy to send these people as much alcohol as they want because they know they’re going to export the problem to the airlines,” he said.
Legal consequences and industry response
Disruptive behaviour on flights is already treated seriously under UK law. Being intoxicated onboard an aircraft is a criminal offence, carrying penalties of up to £5,000 in fines and as much as two years in prison.
Ryanair has also begun pursuing legal action against passengers whose behaviour has forced costly diversions. In one case, the airline initiated proceedings in Ireland seeking €15,000 (£12,500) in damages after a disrupted flight from Dublin to Lanzarote.
The wider aviation industry is also exploring solutions. Budget carrier Jet2 recently called for a national database that would allow airlines to share information and collectively ban disruptive passengers, aiming to prevent repeat offenders from simply flying with another operator.
A cultural shift in airport travel?
O’Leary’s proposal touches on a broader tension between passenger experience and operational safety. While early airport drinks remain a familiar part of travel culture for many, airlines argue that even a small number of intoxicated passengers can create disproportionate disruption, delays, and costs.
Whether airports or regulators adopt stricter alcohol policies remains uncertain. But with flight disruptions rising and airlines pushing for stronger deterrents, the debate over the “airport pint” appears far from over.