Wetherspoons Founder Rejects Ryanair Airport Drink Limits

JD Wetherspoons founder Sir Tim Martin has criticized Ryanair’s proposal to restrict alcohol sales at airports in the early morning, saying the airline’s plan would be hard to enforce and could push passengers to buy drinks before they reach security.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said on Wednesday that airports should ban the early-morning pint and impose a two-drink limit on passengers in an effort to reduce disruptive behavior on flights. He argued that alcohol is a factor in some onboard incidents and said airlines are dealing with too many cases of unruly passengers.

In comments published by The Times on Thursday, Martin rejected the idea as a “Big Brother” approach. He said that while good behavior at airports and on flights was in everyone’s interest, a two-drink limit would be difficult to police without breath tests. He called the proposal an overreaction, especially because, he said, many problems begin on incoming flights rather than before departure.

Wetherspoons said in a statement that airport drinking limits could simply shift sales away from bars and restaurants inside terminals and toward off-trade purchases, such as alcohol bought at supermarkets or off-licenses before travelers arrive at the airport. The company said its airport pubs operate in highly supervised settings with strict rules meant to prevent excessive drinking.

The chain also said it had never been suggested that its customers were responsible for flight disruption and argued that most of its sales are not alcohol-related. Martin’s remarks came after O’Leary said Ryanair was diverting almost one flight a day on average because of disruptive passenger behavior, which he partly blamed on alcohol.

Civil Aviation Authority figures show that incidents involving disruptive passengers have increased since the pandemic. Unlike pubs on the ground, airside venues are not bound by standard alcohol licensing hours. O’Leary has argued that airport rules should more closely match those applied to pubs elsewhere.

Being drunk on an aircraft is a criminal offense in Britain and can lead to a fine and up to two years in prison.