Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin has clashed with Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary over his call for a two-drink limit at airports.
The airline boss wants change to pubs outside boarding gates after a sharp rise in bad behaviour by drunk passengers.
But Sir Tim, chairman of the pub chain which owns seven airport venues, says travellers are getting drunk on flights rather than while waiting to board.
He also said that airport bars had stopped offering “shots” and “double up” deals, which he said are still offered on flights.
He The Wetherspoon boss told MailOnline: “We have had no complaints about our pubs from airport authorities or airlines, to my knowledge, in recent years.
Wetherspoon boss Sir Tim Martin has criticised the idea of a two-drink limit at airports (file photo)
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary demanded the change last night, claiming passengers were getting drunk in the terminal and then causing chaos on board (file photo)
There are seven Wetherspoon pubs in airports across the UK, including the Windmill at Stansted.
‘A few years ago Wetherspoon stopped selling ‘shooters’ at airports, as well as the ‘double-up’ deals, which some airlines, including Ryanair, still offer.
‘Our own interpretation was that most of the problems arose on inbound flights, possibly indicating fewer controls abroad.’
Footage has emerged of the chaos of recent years, with a Ryanair stewardess telling of the time she was taunted by “drunk” Manchester United fans who shouted sexist songs at her during a flight to Barcelona.
Chloe Harrison said she had only been in the job for three months when she was forced to deal with a group of lewd supporters, with one even inviting her to go into the toilet with them.
Ryanair boss O’Leary said yesterday that cabin crew now have to deal with fights on flights on a weekly basis because travellers drink more alcohol than they should before boarding.
He called for a limit of two alcoholic drinks per boarding pass, explaining: “It is not easy for airlines to identify people who are drunk. As long as they can stand up, they can get through.”
“Then, when the plane takes off, we see the bad behavior.”
O’Leary said airports were opposed to the changes and insisted they would refuse to serve passengers who were too drunk, but added: “They do serve the families of drunk passengers.”
Chaos erupted on a Ryanair flight in February last year, with one flight attendant saying she was taunted by “drunken” Manchester United fans.
The Wetherspoon, one of Sir Tim’s three pubs at Gatwick Airport (in stock)
Some Brits even took to social media to share how they got hold of alcohol on planes, like TikTok user @Roxreviews.
But Sir Tim said this was not the case at his airport Wetherspoon, claiming that in the past four weeks only a third of its sales at the busiest bar in its terminal were alcohol.
He said two-thirds of sales are non-alcoholic: food accounts for almost 40 percent of sales, soft drinks almost 20 percent and coffee 6.7 percent.
Sir Tim continued: ‘Our pubs, like other airport venues, cooperate with airport initiatives such as ‘One Too Many’, which warns passengers of the consequences of drinking too much before boarding their flight, including heavy fines and being banned from travelling.
‘Mr O’Leary is referring to genuine concerns and flight safety is of course paramount, but Wetherspoon’s airport pubs offer supervised consumption in a controlled environment, with attractive non-alcoholic options and an extensive food menu.
“There is no perfect solution, but by working with airports, airlines and licensing authorities, Wetherspoon believes it has struck a reasonable balance for outbound flights.”
Meanwhile, the Ryanair boss also revealed that crew are now stopping Brits flying to Ibiza from taking water on board, while passengers were filling their bottles with vodka.
Mr O’Leary said staff had even been forced to start checking passengers’ hand luggage before they boarded flights to places such as Ibiza and other party destinations.
The chief said this happened after passengers began filling their water bottles with vodka and bringing it on board.
Mr O’Leary said drugs also played a role.
The times The boss reported: ‘We used to allow them to take only bottles of water on board, not realising that they were filled with vodka.
“Now we don’t even let them take that away.”
‘In the old days, people who drank too much would collapse or fall asleep. But now those passengers also take pills and powders. It’s the mix.
“We are seeing much more aggressive behaviour that is very difficult to control. And it is not limited to the crew. Fights between passengers are an increasing trend on board aircraft.”
But he said the problem with drunken travellers was not limited to Ibiza, but also affected other beach destinations such as the Greek islands and even Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester and Edinburgh.
However, News from heaven He reported saying: “Ibiza is by far the worst destination for it.”
Passengers are not shy about drinking.
Many people have taken to TikTok in recent times to share their “tips and tricks” on how to consume alcohol.
Some passengers were seen pouring glasses of wine they had purchased at airport bars into their water bottles, coffee cups and whatever other containers they had on hand.
The images showed them looking happy as they boarded the plane and showed how they had brought the alcohol on board.
Others filmed themselves filling water or soft drink bottles with alcoholic beverages they had bought at duty-free shops, before heading to the boarding gates for their flights.
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