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MORE disruptive plane passengers could be taken to court if a flight is forced to divert, the boss of Ryanair has warned.

Earlier this month, the airline confirmed that they were claiming damages of €15,000 (£12,500) against a passenger who forced a flight between Dublin and Lanzarote to land in Porto.

Michael O'Leary, Ryanair CEO, gesturing at a press conference.
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Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has warned they will take more disruptive passengers to courtCredit: AFP

And the budget airline boss Michael O'Leary has said they will do the same to other passengers who cause chaos on flights.

He told : "If passengers continue disrupting our flights, we will sue you for the cost of those diversions and those disruptions."

He added: "We're having two or three of these diversions a week."

The airline currently operates 3,500 flights a day, but said that the diversions were "two or three too many."

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It follows O'Leary's repeated request to have drink restrictions at airports to avoid the drunk disruptions.

Previously calling for a two-drink cap, he added: "We don't care what the number is, but there just needs to be a little bit more common sense about it."

Currently, airport bars and restaurants have no restrictions in place, but can stop serving passengers who are seen to be too inebriated.

And most bars serve alcohol as early as 6am at the airport.

However, travellers are not allowed to buy alcohol at at the airport's Duty Free and drink it on flights.

A Ryanair spokesperson previously said: "It is time that EU authorities take action to limit the sale of alcohol at airports.

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"Airlines, like Ryanair, already restrict and limit the sale of alcohol on board our aircraft, particularly in disruptive passenger cases.

"However, during flight delays, passengers are consuming excess alcohol at airports without any limit on purchase or consumption."

This has been backed even further by former Aer Lingus boss Padraig O’Ceidigh who said: "I don't think that alcohol should be sold on board an airplane, quite frankly."

The Ryanair boss also hit back against the plan to expand London Heathrow, as confirmed by Rachel Reeves yesterday.

Wanting planning signed off before the next election in 2029, she said: "I can confirm today that this government supports a third runway at Heathrow and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer."

However, O'Leary said he would "never fly from the airport" even if it was free for the airline to do so, citing long turn-around times that would cause a loss of daily flight numbers.

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He also called for other underused airports in the UK to grow instead.

Reeves called for the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which closed back in 2022.

She said: "It now sits idle despite the potential to drive jobs and growth across the North."

The airport hopes to reopen by 2026, with airlines such as TUI - who were the last airline to fly from there - expressing interest in returning.

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previously explained that crew tend can easily stop serving drinks if they think a passenger is too drunk.

They said: "As a team, we keep an eye on the consumption of each passenger, and will let each other know if someone is drinking a little too greedily.

"We can all collectively make a decision of whether or not we need to cut their supply and refuse them service."

Explaining how to tell, they added that if they "wouldn't be able to look after themselves in an emergency" then they had had too much to drink.

Another airline wanting to reopen to passengers is Manston Airport in Kent - here is everything we know.

Plymouth Airport is also calling to be reopened after 14 years.

Ryanair plane at Beauvais airport.
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A passenger is facing claims of £12k from Ryanair after they forced a flight to divert to PortoCredit: Getty
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