UK tourists have strongly criticised calls from Ryanair to prohibit the sale of alcohol in airport departure lounges during early morning hours. Michael O'Leary, the airline's chief executive, has urged pubs in departure lounges to stop serving beer to passengers on early morning flights.
Passengers React with Horror
At Stansted Airport, travellers expressed dismay at the proposal. One holidaymaker told The Guardian: "It's a holiday ritual." Another added: "It's like the start of holiday. We don't get drunk, we just have a pint, say cheers and off we go."
"We're not nervous flyers or anything," they said, following JD Wetherspoon's criticism of Ryanair's stance. "You wouldn't be drinking a pint at home at this time of day but it's just nice to do something different."
Mixed Views on Safety
Some passengers acknowledged potential issues. "If you were working on the plane and you've got people who have had a few drinks, it can be a bit threatening, I guess, so I completely understand," said a passenger. "But for us, it's just a drink before boarding to say our holiday starts here."
Pre-flight drinking provides a "sense of freedom and venturing out of your normal routine," another traveller commented, calling it a "symbol of unwinding and relaxation." They added: "It's probably the only socially acceptable time you can have a pint before 10am."
O'Leary's Justification
Michael O'Leary stated: "There should be no alcohol served at airports outside [those] licensing hours." He argued: "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."
Being drunk on a plane is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000 and two years' imprisonment.
