Ryanair has said a civil action filed against a passenger is part of a zero-tolerance policy on unruly behaviour on its aircraft and it warned it will not be the last time it sues somebody for causing disruption.
The airline filed a claim in the Circuit Court on 20 December for more than €15,000 in damages against a passenger it said disrupted a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote last year.
An incident occurred on the 9 April 2023 when flight FR7124 was diverted to Portugal, which left the plane in Porto overnight.
The 160 passengers on board had to be provided with hotel accomodation for the night.
Ryanair's Chief Marketing Officer Dara Brady said unruly behaviour is unacceptable and that the court action "sends out a really strong message; that if you are going to be unruly or misbehave, Ryanair is going to protect our other passengers and particularly our crew who do a fantastic job of managing these difficult passengers; we are going make sure we do everything to support those and we will not tolerate disruptive passengers on board".
He said there are many different examples of disruptive behaviour and that it can range from verbal abuse to physical abuse some of which can be alcohol-related.
Mr Brady believes the threat of a court action will change behaviour.
He said: "Ultimately I think if passengers know there are significant sanctions ... that they may face civil actions or prosecution by states, then they will be far more concious of their behaviour on board."
Other airlines likely to watch case closely - expert
RTÉ News understands this is the first court action of its type in Ireland and legal experts suggest this case could set a precedent and be one that other airlines look closely at.
Dr Brian Flanagan is an associate professor at the school of law and criminology at Maynooth University.
He said the civil case is an effort by Ryanair to make an example of a passengers and to make others think twice about that sort of disruptive behaviour.
Dr Flanagan said: "I think other airlines are going to be looking closely at it.
"I think if it is successful you will have a lot of people in the industry being quite satisfied and you might also have potential passengers being satisfied that there is this avenue of recourse."
There has been an uptick in unruly behaviour on airplanes in recent years.
Last year, the Irish Aviation Authority launched a campaign to tackle passenger misconduct, a declaration was signed by all Irish airlines and aviation organistions to reduce the incidence of unruly passenger behaviour.
The Fórsa union represents 2,000 cabin crew members working across a number of different Irish airlines.
Assistant General Secretary Lisa Connell said its members are the first responders in unruly passenger behaviour and that Ryanair's civil action is reflective of the wider commercial concern and fallout of those behaviours.
She said the IAA's charter creates a wider awareness in terms of what the expectation for passengers and crew is on board and that the declaration is critical in ensuring Fórsa members safety in the workplace.
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