Ryanair booze warning to UK holidaymakers with flights booked to Spain

Holidaymakers flying with Ryanair this summer as the airline has introduced new rules on booze.

Passengers have been warned that alcohol will not be allowed to be carried on board as part of moves to tackle antisocial behaviour. It means that alcoholic duty-free items must remain unopened and stored until passengers arrive at their destination, preventing people from drinking while on board.

The rule applies to flights from the UK to several popular destinations in Spain, including Alicante, Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma and Tenerife South. The airline said the move has been put in place “to prioritise the comfort and safety” of fellow travellers on flights.

In a recent email sent to customers, Ryanair has said: “In order to prioritise the comfort and safety of all passengers, Ryanair will implement the following restrictions on your upcoming flight to Spain:

“Customers will not be allowed to carry alcohol on board and all cabin baggage will be searched at the boarding gates.

“Any alcohol purchased in airport shops or elsewhere must be packed carefully in a suitable item of cabin baggage, which will be tagged at the gate and then placed in the aircraft hold free of charge if you have purchased priority boarding or have a small piece of hand luggage.

“If the bag is unsuitable for placing in the hold (e.g. plastic bag) then customers will be required to dispose of the alcohol in the bins provided.”

Any passengers who are found to be concealing alcohol and bringing it on board risks being removed from the flight, without a refund or compensation.

The airline added: “Boarding gates will be carefully monitored and customers showing any signs of anti-social behaviour or attempting to conceal alcohol will be denied travel without refund or compensation.”

Ryanair has denied that the move constitues a ban on alcohol, the rules simply mean passengers cannot consume alcoholic duty-free items on baord. A Ryanair spokesperson said in a statement: “We are not ‘banning’ or ‘confiscating’ duty free alcohol at boarding gates. As per Ryanair’s T&Cs, passengers can carry duty free alcohol onboard but must not consume it during the flight.”

The decision comes after 15 people were recently removed from a Ryanair flight from Manchester due to drunken behaviour, which led to five hour delays.

It is understood that the group was a rowdy hen party and caused disruption for fellow passengers, prompting crew members to request police assistance to remove them from the plane.

But holidaymakers hoping for a boozy holiday on arrival in Spain also face strict rules in some parts of the country too, due to recent moves to crackdown on drunken behaviour in popular ‘party resorts’.

In the holiday hotspots of Magaluf (Calvià), Playa de Palma on the island of Mallorca and San Antonio (San Antoni de Portmany) on the island of Ibiza, happy hours, open bars, two-for-one drinks, pub crawls and party boat trips are all banned, as well as the sale of alcoholic drinks from vending machines.

Strict alcohol rules also apply to all-inclusive trips in Magaluf, El Arenal and San Antonio on the island of Ibiza. The law, introduced in January last year, limits all-inclusive guests to six alcoholic drinks per day - three at lunch and three with an evening meal - instead of having free-flowing drinks all day.

Some local councils in Spain have also banned alcohol from being consumed in the street and will issue on-the-spot fines for those who break the rules.

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states: “In designated areas of the resorts, there are prohibitions on happy hours, open bars (such as all you can drink in 1-hour offers), the sale of alcohol from vending machines, self-service alcohol dispensers and the organising of pub-crawls and party boat trips.

“The law also prohibits “off-licence” sales between 9.30pm and 8am. In addition, hotels and other establishments are obliged to evict clients found to be behaving dangerously on balconies, with fines for both the client and the establishment.”