Ryanair bans booze on Prestwick-Ibiza flights

coylemj

This was reported by the Daily Record in Scotland and picked up by USA Today where I spotted it.....

RYANAIR told passengers travelling from Glasgow Prestwick to the Spanish isle that they will no longer be able to take alcohol on board.

An airline have banned booze on a notorious flight from Scotland to party island Ibiza.

Ryanair told passengers travelling from Glasgow Prestwick to the Spanish isle that they will no longer be able to take alcohol on board.

Bosses yesterday confirmed it is the only one of their flights hit by the new restrictions.


http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/airline-bans-booze-notorious-flight-5462177

JCX BXC

Passengers will be able to purchase alcohol on board, but at least on board they can be cut off after a few drinks AND the high prices dis-encourage them anyway.

Stinicker

I really think that alcohol on-board represents an unnecessary safety risk, drunk passengers would endanger themselves and other sober passengers in the event of an emergency evacuation.

Restricting Duty a Free alcohol consumption is a good policy by Ryanair and they should roll it out to other troublesome routes and to flights frequented by revellers and match goers.

IngazZagni

I think it's a policy on all Ryanair flights to not consume your own alcohol on board but this rule is frequently ignored. This rule just goes a step further and prevents you from bringing any alcohol into the cabin in the first place. Somehow I believe this will be a logistical nightmare and many will slip through the net, otherwise expect delays.

I feel sorry for the gate staff and cabin crew on these kind of flights.

Fagashlil

IngazZagni wrote: »

I feel sorry for the gate staff and cabin crew on these kind of flights.

Very little sympathy for the gate staff sometimes, all to frequently PAX who should not be let through the gate to board are so the problem is pased to us on board!

Really wish the same was done in dublin, especially on the Ibiza and Alicante flights, they can be a complete nightmare during the summer. The no alcohol rule is enforced, however people seem to be of the opinion that it doesnt apply to them. And we're not supposed to confiscate alcohol anymore. However, they need to stop the sale in the duty free, not just ban the alcohol on board. All that will happen is people will buy a bottle of vodka, several bottles of water and just empty the water and refill the bottles, it's happened plenty of times already.

squonk

What's the position with EI and consumption of carry-on alcohol on board?

I was on a fligth from Shannon to Heathrow last year and bought a bottle of porterhouse stout in the airside shop and decided to open it and enjoy it once we'd leveled off and my fellow seat occupants were all well settled.

Later when the FA came around collecting rubbish and I handed her my, now empty, bottle she told me that I wasn't allowed to drink my own alcohol on board. I thought it was a bit rich as nobody had stopped me at the gate and mentioned it and it was bought airside. It was also IMHO something more to my taste than I could get on board, but the pressurization does affect your taste buds anyway so it tasted different though still a good tipple.

If I'd handed her 10 empty bottles and was heavilly intoxicated I'd have totally understood that she may have been concerned that I was a risk to other passengers but it seemed heavy handed to me. In any case, I pleaded dumb as I was genuinely not aware of such a restriction but it felt like I was back in school being told off by my teacher!

L1011

squonk wrote: »

What's the position with EI and consumption of carry-on alcohol on board?

That you can't drink it.

Not every condition of carriage is mentioned to you at boarding as it'd take longer than the flight - its mentioned in the conditions of carriage on booking and its also in Cara - page 142 of the current issue (http://issuu.com/caraaugust/docs/caraissuu_20april-may15.compressed)

They occasionally mention it over the PA on flights that are particularly prone to trouble, e.g. back from Spain or to AMS on Fridays etc.


I'd actually suspect there isn't an airline anywhere that allows you to drink brought on alcohol. I was on an Easyjet flight CPH-MAN without knowing its reputation for drunken Scandi football fans going to Manchester/Liverpool and there were repeated warnings and one person met at the gate by police.

arubex

We can't even take hot drinks onto the aircraft at Belfast City, regardless of whether they're in a flask or not.

They claim 'health and safety' but are happy to sell you a cup of scalding-hot ( too hot ) tea for €5 onboard, in a flimsy paper cup that burns your hands and spills over your lap. And nowhere to put the dripping-hot teabag.

Funny, that...

Tenger

squonk wrote: »

What's the position with EI and consumption of carry-on alcohol on board?
......

As above, this info is in the T&C's which all pax have accepted, funny that.

An aircraft is not a bar and many pax don't seem to get this distinction. Idiots necking bottles of booze disrupt and possibly endanger other passengers.The bar is not there for their benefit. Some people get irate when told "no more", others realise that they are being an ass.

On the other hand most people know not to take outside bottles into a pub with them!


I think EI stopped serving alcohol on their Riga flights a few years back. (they stopped operating there about 3 yrs ago?)
And I know that they confiscated all open bottles at the boarding gate on their DUB-IBZ flights 2 summers ago.


EDIT: by "necking a bottle" I am referring to bottles of spirits rather than a bottle or two of beer. Personally I seen no !danger! with taking 1-2 drinks onboard. The airport themselves sell little bottles of wine for just this reason. They aren't going to stop it.

squonk

In fairness Tenger somebody taking booze on board they bought airside and 'necking a bottle' in a responsible manner isn't really an idiot. Of course they are if they neck 8 or 9 bottles and start becoming a danger to themselves, the other pax and the flight in general but that's a completely different scenario.

I think most reasonable people completley realise that an aircraft isn't a bar. It doesn't however stop the airlines themselves from selling overpriced alcoholic drinks and mixers. From that perspective I think they realise they've a bar of sorts with a captive clientele.

Rawr

I'm kind of surprised that bans like this haven't been more widespread.

As Tenger just said, some PAX really seem to think that a plane is a bar. Planes heading down to the Mediterranean especially seem to attract those who wish to kick-start their party in transit (but I can easily imagine many other routes with this issue).

Although I can certainly understand the feeling that the holiday has 'officially begun' once your flight is in the air (and thus the desire to mark that with a drink), I can't understand for the life of me why some would feel the need to drink so much while flying. Excessive drinking on the ground is one thing, but doing it in a pressurized tube flying through the air is just a really bad kind of stupid.

I know this is more than likely connected with the overall social issue of binge-drinking, and the anti-social behavior that comes with it. But with flying you've also got considerable safety considerations, as well as potential disruption caused if the plane has to land mid-journey to eject a passenger.

It disappoints me whenever common sense needs to be re-enforced with strict rules, but I can understand if strict drinks bans would need to be enforced, such as in the example of this Prestwick-Ibiza ban. People *should* have enough cop-on to know that if you drink on a plane, it is a lot easier to get drunk due to dehydration. Alas, too many people don't have this.

The draw-back of course is that sensible travelers are also subjected to this. Myself like many others, who do purchase Duty-Free alcohol pre-flight are typically doing so to consume long after arrival, not in-flight. Having to stow duty-free bottles under the plane because some idiots just couldn't wait a few hours, creates a bit hassle, probably resulting in an extended wait that the baggage-carousel to get them back. (Probably particularly annoying if you only have cabin-baggage.) For the sake of safety, I would understand, but I would still be frustrated that the rule would be needed at all.

Of course I'm of the opinion that you don't *need* to drink when you are on a plane. It's just the flying equivalent to a bus or train, neither of which you typically find yourself drinking upon.

Also, if I remember right, it is comparatively very cheap to purchase bottles of booze in the likes of Spain. In some cases probably cheaper than 'Travel-Value' prices. Unless you are en-route to someone's house-party and the shops will be due to close when you land, there's little advantage to buying booze in the airport.

Hell...lately my duty-free purchases usually involve getting the coveted Giant Toblerone, and usually little else! The savings in the alcohol aren't really worth carrying the bottles sometimes.

Blut2

I'm usually not a fan of more unnecessary levels of security but I've been on numerous DUB > IBZ flights in summer before and its the most rowdy flight I've ever been on. I've seen:

- People screaming and shouting and dancing in the aisles
- People playing music from boomboxes
- People being passed out drunk by the time the plane lands
- People doing lines of cocaine off their tray tables (!)
- Loads of empty 1litre bottles of whiskey/vodka rolling around the plane on disembarking
- Spanish Police having to tell people in the immigration queue to put back on their shirts / turn off their boomboxes
- People being refused entry to Spain at immigration for being obviously high

I have nothing but sympathy for the poor cabin crew that have to work the route and the abuse they put up with. They should have a security officer at boarding refusing boarding to anyone obviously hammered, and all booze should be confiscated until the plane lands.

fr336

Blut2 wrote: »

I'm usually not a fan of more unnecessary levels of security but I've been on numerous DUB > IBZ flights in summer before and its the most rowdy flight I've ever been on. I've seen:

- People screaming and shouting and dancing in the aisles
- People playing music from boomboxes
- People being passed out drunk by the time the plane lands
- People doing lines of cocaine off their tray tables (!)
- Loads of empty 1litre bottles of whiskey/vodka rolling around the plane on disembarking
- Spanish Police having to tell people in the immigration queue to put back on their shirts / turn off their boomboxes
- People being refused entry to Spain at immigration for being obviously high

I have nothing but sympathy for the poor cabin crew that have to work the route and the abuse they put up with. They should have a security officer at boarding refusing boarding to anyone obviously hammered, and all booze should be confiscated until the plane lands.

Sorry but :D:D:D

Chris_5339762

Heres why -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpO_42-Miy4

Fagashlil

Sure last summer we'd a stag party going to ALC all dressed as super heroes, half the flight was spent telling "superman" to get out of the hatbin. And that was a calm flight. My first year based in DUB I did about 12-15 ALC, and only on 1 were the police not called, usually we called them for people smoking. And ive lost count of the amount of times we've called ambulances on arrival in DUB, usually from RIX or a polish flight, where someone's drank themself into a mini coma and have to be carried from the plane, very sad really. Ive no problem refusing to serve someone, but unfortunately some people who know they shouldn't be doing it will just hide in their seat and down a bottle.

Strumms

Stinicker wrote: »

I really think that alcohol on-board represents an unnecessary safety risk, drunk passengers would endanger themselves and other sober passengers in the event of an emergency evacuation.

Restricting Duty a Free alcohol consumption is a good policy by Ryanair and they should roll it out to other troublesome routes and to flights frequented by revellers and match goers.

Can you let us know of a circumstance where drunk passengers or a passenger caused a danger to themselves or others during an emergency evacuation ? Not being smart, a genuine question.

Alcohol and the abuse of is a problem that society has to deal with and affects many facets of life from drink driving, people becoming abusive, anti social behaviour in general..

The vast majority.. 99.99%. of folks, who like a drink at the airport be it to kill a few nerves about flying, kill some time while waiting for a flight or de-stress after a day's work manage to do so without becoming a menace to themselves or others. Those that do are the exception to the rule. Cabin crew and airport staff are trained to deal with situations that may arise. I feel it's sensationalist to suggest banning alcohol, it penalises the vast majority of us who just like a drink. If somone who is at the gate is swigging out of a bottle of spirits and off their head or even a beer it should be dealt with in the proper fashion, engage with the individual, any resistance call the airport police and deny boarding full stop. If somone complies and appears sober so be it.

Locker10a

arubex wrote: »

We can't even take hot drinks onto the aircraft at Belfast City, regardless of whether they're in a flask or not.

They claim 'health and safety' but are happy to sell you a cup of scalding-hot ( too hot ) tea for €5 onboard, in a flimsy paper cup that burns your hands and spills over your lap. And nowhere to put the dripping-hot teabag.

Funny, that...

Yeah it is funny I've yet to fly with any airline who charges €5 for a hot drink !!! Not allowing hot drinks onto aircraft especially if they don't have secure lids is to me a perfectly sensible safety precaution when a plane is boarding and taking off !!

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

arubex

OK seems I've exaggerated the price ( I've never actually succumbed to buy-on-board ) but I've never encountered the hot-drinks ban anywhere except Belfast City. Is it a general policy now?

LiamaDelta

arubex wrote: »

OK seems I've exaggerated the price ( I've never actually succumbed to buy-on-board ) but I've never encountered the hot-drinks ban anywhere except Belfast City. Is it a general policy now?

'flimsy paper cup that burns your hands and spills over your lap'.... I don't think it's just the price you've exaggerated

Yes it's standard practice in most airports not to allow people board planes with hot drinks. Passport & boarding card checks, carrying luggage, climbing stairs, stowing luggage etc. a lot more likely for stuff to go wrong.
Even by your own description where people seem incapable of holding and drinking a hot drink while sitting in a seat, I certainly wouldn't let them board a plane with one.

JCX BXC

LiamaDelta wrote: »

'flimsy paper cup that burns your hands and spills over your lap'.... I don't think it's just the price you've exaggerated
.

Nope, that part Is not exaggerated. At least half of the time when I get a hot drink on a plane the lid is not fit for purpose and tea/coffee runs down the side of the cup.

faceman

Virgin do something not too dissimilar on their LHR - Vegas route. Alcohol is free but they limit what they give out to people.