Budget airline Ryanair is seeking damages of 15,000 euros after filing Dublin's civil court against a passenger it claimed disrupted a flight to Lanzarote.
The incident on April 9 last year forced the flight between Dublin and the Spanish island or Lanzarote to be diverted via the Portuguese city of Porto.
Ryanair said it was seeking 15,000 euros (£12,500) in damages, following “inexcusable behaviour” by the passenger.
Ryanair did not name the passenger who disrupted flight FR7124 from Dublin to Lanzarote but said their “inexcusable behaviour” forced the flight to be delayed overnight, with 160 passengers losing a full day of their holiday.
Ryanair said it was seeking compensation for the cost of overnight accommodation, passenger expenses, and landing costs, Mail Online reports.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable that passengers who work hard to enjoy a trip away with family/friends are robbed of the pleasure due to one passenger's failure to behave.”
The spokesperson said the airline intended the filed lawsuit to act as a deterrent to other unruly passengers.
“Ryanair is committed to ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a safe and respectful environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers,” the spokesperson continued.
“Ryanair has a strict zero-tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behavior on aircraft for the benefit of the vast majority of passengers who do not disrupt flights.”
This demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair's zero tolerance policy, and we hope this action will deter further disruptive behavior on flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment.”
Ryanair's clampdown comes amid a rise in the number of air rage incidents since the pandemic.
Ryanair's chief executive, Michael O'Leary told the Independent last September that “midflight meltdowns” had gotten noticeably worse during the summer of 2024.
He said air rage was causing serious problems on its flights at a rate of about one a week – with much of the disruption fueled by alcohol.
He called for a limit of two drinks per passenger at airports and was willing to impose the same limit on Ryanair flights.