Photo: Shutterstock Ryanair confirmed today (Wednesday, March 19) that it has filed a private criminal complaint in the courts of Spain against a passenger who disrupted flight FR2001 from Lanzarote to Santiago on January 17.
"The passenger's unacceptable behavior caused a 40-minute delay in takeoff and unnecessary disruption for 137 passengers," the company noted.
The passenger, who claimed to be a UN diplomat with "diplomatic immunity," attempted to take a seat that was not assigned to him and became verbally abusive when the cabin crew requested to see his boarding pass. He was removed from the flight by the police.
"Ryanair has a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behavior from passengers and is committed to taking decisive action to combat unruly behavior for the benefit of all passengers and crew. Ryanair will continue to uphold its commitment to provide a safe and enjoyable travel experience for everyone.
A Ryanair spokesperson added: "It is unacceptable that passengers, many of whom are on family vacations, suffer unnecessary delays due to the actions of one unruly passenger. Unfortunately, this was the situation for passengers on this flight from Lanzarote to Santiago in January, during which an unruly passenger caused a delay in takeoff due to his unacceptable behavior.
We have filed a private criminal complaint against this passenger, where the court may impose a sentence of 3-12 months imprisonment or a fine of 6-18 months of salary. These are just some of the possible consequences under Ryanair's zero-tolerance policy towards passengers disrupting flights.
We hope this example will deter further disruptive behavior on Ryanair flights, so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment as they are entitled to do."
In conclusion, in recent years there has been an increase in incidents of violence on flights, and airlines have decided to combat this phenomenon to eradicate it. It is important for unruly passengers to know that disorderly conduct on flights and disrespect towards the flight crew and other passengers may have serious consequences.
This is not the first time that Ryanair has sued unruly passengers.
For example, the company filed legal proceedings in the district court in Ireland in a lawsuit for over 15,000 euros in damages against a passenger who disrupted a flight from Dublin on April 9, 2024.
The company noted that the unacceptable behavior of this passenger forced the flight to divert to Porto, where it landed for a night, resulting in 160 passengers also losing a whole day of their vacation.
Photo: Shutterstock 