Ryanair has filed a lawsuit against a passenger whose behavior disrupted a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote and forced it to land in Porto, the airline announced on Wednesday. This delayed the journey by an entire night. The airline demands EUR 15,000 in compensation from him. In addition, she also said that she plans similar lawsuits in other countries.
Ryanair announced on Wednesday that it had filed a claim for damages in the Irish District Court over 15 thousand euro against a passengerwhich disrupted a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote (Canary Islands) in April 2024.
According to the carrier, the flight with 160 passengers on board was redirected to Porto due to “inappropriate behavior of a passenger”. The carrier added that landing in Portugal delayed the journey to the destination by the entire night.
Due to “inappropriate behavior” 160 passengers had to land at another portShutterstock
Zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior
The airline explained that the amount of approx. PLN 15,000 euro is the sum of expenses related to forced landing, providing accommodation for passengers and other costs. She added that the lawsuit aims to recover the equivalent of these expenses.
“Ryanair is committed to ensuring that all travelers and crew feel safe and treated with respect, without unnecessary misunderstandings caused by a few unruly passengers. The carrier has a strict zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior and will continue to take strong steps to minimize it. this includes the vast majority of people who do not make the flight difficult for others,” the carrier said in a statement. He added that he intended to “punish all problematic passengers to minimize inappropriate behavior during travel.”
First passenger sued in Ireland
Ryanair said the defendant passenger was a national Ireland. He added that this is the first time a passenger has been sued in Ireland, but the airline also plans to sue in other countries.
When asked why it publicly informs about the lawsuit filed against the passenger, the carrier explained that it wanted to do so “to demonstrate one of the many consequences that passengers disrupting flights will face”. “We hope this action will discourage other passengers from disrupting the flight so that passengers and crew can travel in a friendly environment,” Ryanair wrote.
Ryanair is an Irish carrier that operates in 37 countries, flying to 234 airports; 95 of them are carrier bases. The airline has a fleet of approximately 600 aircraft and declares to order 350 more, which will allow for an increase in transport in 2034 to 300 million passengers per year. In Poland, Ryanair uses 13 airports; six of them are bases where it has 42 aircraft.
In Poland, Ryanair uses 13 airports; six of them are bases where it has 42 aircraftPrzemek Swiderski/Gallo Images Poland