Ryanair continues its campaign against unruly passengers by hitting them where it hurts most: their wallets.
On June 30, 2024, Ryanair was operating scheduled flight FR4204 from Glasgow (GLA), Scotland to Krakow (KRK), Poland. During the flight, a passenger started misbehaving, eventually forcing the crew to divert to nearby Rzeszow (RZE), about 90 miles away from their original destination.
The aircraft carrying 191 passengers, landed in Rzeszow at 12:20 a.m. the next morning, where the unruly person was removed. After spending a few hours on the ground, the flight departed minutes before 6 a.m., taking just 22 minutes to get to Krakow.
Ryanair did not provide further details as to why the passenger displayed “inexcusable” behaviour, but they did not sweep the incident under the rug. The matter was brought in front of the Krakow district court, and the passenger was eventually fined €3,230.
While this certainly does not cover the full extent of the diversion, it still sends a message to passengers that bad behaviour on board will no longer be tolerated.
In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson said:
“It is unacceptable that passengers are suffering unnecessary disruption as a result of one unruly passenger’s behaviour.
“We welcome the decision of the Kraków district court which demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy, and we hope this action will deter further disruptive behaviour on flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment.”
This is not the first time that Ryanair has taken legal action over misbehaviour on board its flights. In April, the carrier sued an individual in the Polish courts for €3,000, after the unruly traveler forced a flight from Berlin (BER) to Marrakesh (RAK) to divert to Seville (SVQ).
In January, the airline also sued an intoxicated passenger for a whopping €15,000 after they forced an April 2024 Ryanair flight from Dublin (DUB) to Lanzarote (ACE) to divert to Porto (OPO). This diversion was much more costly as Ryanair had to cover the cost of accommodations, meals and other related expenses.
