RYANAIR has introduced a new €500 fine in an attempt to tackle “disruptive” passengers.
The new initiative kicks in today, and will see the fine issued to passengers whose behaviour results in them being taken off the flight.
In a statement, Ryanair explained that passengers “expect to travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment, free from unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers”.
It added that the issue of disruptive passengers impacts every airline across the industry.
And with the introduction of this new fine, Ryanair remains committed to pursuing those who disrupt flights for civil damages.
But they noted that the €500 fine will be issued to people “at a minimum”.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable that passengers are made suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passenger’s behaviour.
“To help ensure that our passengers and crew travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers, we have introduced a €500 fine, which will be issued to any passengers offloaded from aircraft as a result of their misconduct.
“While these are isolated events which happen across all airlines, disruptive behaviour in such a confined shared space is unacceptable, and we hope that our proactive approach will act as a deterrent to eliminate this unacceptable behaviour onboard our aircraft.”
When a plane has to land to allow police to board and arrest a disruptive passenger, it can cause huge issues for holidaymakers.
This can include distress, delays and even missed connections.
It comes after a number of flights were affected after passengers on board became disruptive.
Back in January, the airline announced legal action to recover losses from disruptive passengers.
Legal proceedings had reportedly been filed in the Irish Circuit Court.
The airline is claiming €15,000 in damages against a passengers it alleges disrupted a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote last year.
The flight was diverted to Porto as a result of the passenger’s behaviour .
The flight was then delayed overnight, which resulted in 160 passengers facing “unnecessary disruption as well as losing a full day of their holiday.”
The €15,000 reportedly takes into account the cost of overnight accommodation, landing costs and passenger expenses.
