A lads holiday might start in the airport Wetherspoons. A hen do needs an early start to a party that'll end in another country. The tradition of getting a drink at the airport is one many share, but it may not always be the wisest decision. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary believes that airport drinking leads to bad behaviour on flights, and is calling for a ban on early-morning airport drinks.
Speaking to The Times, O'Leary said: "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?"
Airport bars do not follow restrictions in the UK that other establishments selling alcohol do. O'Leary believes that these rules, which stop alcohol being served until later in the morning, should apply to airport bars as well. He did not comment on whether he would restrict drinking hours on flights.
"We are reasonably responsible, but the ones who are not responsible, the ones who are profiteering off it, 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," O'Leary continued.
Ryanair announced in January 2025 that it was taking legal action against disruptive passengers to recover losses when a flight was diverted. It is currently illegal to be drunk on a plane in the UK, and offenders can be charged up to £5,000 and face up to two years' imprisonment.
