Michael O’Leary exposed Wetherspoons boss’ bluff with Ryanair 2 drink limit promise

O’Leary condemned an increase in violence on his routes over the summer, pointing the finger at airport pubs sending passengers on their flights drunk.

He called on the Labor government to introduce a two-drink limit in airport pubs, which he sees as the source of the problem. O’Leary also pointed to increased drug use among passengers as a driver of in-flight violence.

Amid pushback from Wetherspoons pub mogul Sir Tim Martin, O’Leary invoked pub landlord bluff by vowing to introduce his own limit, adding he would be “happy to do it tomorrow”.

“If the price of having a drink limit at the airport, where the problem is created, is having a drink limit on board the aircraft, we have no problem with that,” O’Leary told Sky News.

“The real issue is how do we stop these people from getting drunk in airports, especially because, like this summer, we’ve had a huge increase in air traffic control delays.

“They get on board with too much alcohol in their system. If we identify them as drunk on board, we do not serve them alcohol. But that doesn’t solve the problem.”

O’Leary’s calls for a two-drink limit have angered Martin, the founder and chairman of Wetherspoons, which has pubs spread across major UK airports.

Martin, the founder and chairman of Wetherspoons, defended the measures his pub has taken to limit the amount of alcohol consumed by its jet-setting customers as he took a jab at O’Leary.

“We’ve had no complaints about our pubs from airport authorities or airlines that I’m aware of in recent years,” Martin told Times.

“Years ago we stopped selling ‘shooters’ at airports as well as ‘double’ deals. Instead, Ryanair offers a discount on Irish whiskey if a double is ordered,” said Martin.

O’Leary, who did not mention Martin or Wetherspoons during his campaign, appears to have called the bluff.

“Airports, of course, object and say their bars don’t serve drunk passengers. But they serve the relatives of the drunk passenger,” O’Leary previously told the Telegraph.

Martin also pointed out that of the specific problem airports O’Leary name-checked – Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh – Wetherspoons only has one branch in Edinburgh.

However, air rage appears to be a persistent problem, with party destinations such as Ibiza and Ayia Napa posing Ryanair’s biggest challenge.

O’Leary said in-flight violence occurred at a rate of once a week on his flights over the summer.

Last week, a Ryanair flight to Ibiza from Manchester was diverted to Toulouse after passengers became disruptive.