Ryanair flights to multiple popular holiday destinations in Spain have banned travellers from bringing duty-free alcohol into the cabin. The budget airline hopes to clamp down on anti-social drunken behaviour this summer. The stricter measures have been implemented for Glasgow Prestwick and Manchester airports. Low-cost flights to such beloved Spanish spots as Ibiza, Alicante and Malaga have often hit the headlines for Britons boozing onboard and causing trouble.
Ryanair sent emails to its Manchester and Glasgow customers this month warning them that any booze bought in duty-free shops will have to go into the hold.
The rule applies to anyone travelling to Ibiza, Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga, Palma and Tenerife South.
Luggage will be tagged at the airport gate and put in the hold for free if passengers have priority boarding or if they have a small item of carry on baggage.
If the alcohol is brought through in just a plastic – and therefore not suitable for going into the hold – passengers will have to leave their booze behind.
Ryanair staff will be searching cabin bags and boarding gates will be monitored to make sure the rule is not flouted.
They will be on the lookout for customers showing “anti-social behaviour” or “attempting to conceal alcohol.”
The email sent to customers in full said: “In order to prioritise the comfort and safety of all passengers, Ryanair will implement the following restrictions on your upcoming flight to Spain,” reported the Manchester Evening News.
“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.
“Customers with larger cabin bags who have not purchased priority boarding will be required to pay the appropriate fee.
“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.
“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 been imposing bans on bringing alcohol onboard their flights to Ibiza since 2015, which applies to all UK airports.
A Ryanair spokesperson told The Sun: “Customers flying from the UK to Ibiza are not permitted to bring duty-free alcohol on board our aircraft.
“Those who have purchased duty-free alcohol will be asked to either place their purchases in their cabin baggage and into the hold at the boarding gate or leave their purchases behind. This has been Ryanair’s long-standing policy.
Express.co.uk has contacted Ryanair for further comment on the hand luggage policy.
Earlier this year, World Duty Free, which is the sole provider of duty-free stores at most major UK airports, implemented rules that see Duty Free alcohol packed into a sealed plastic bags branded with the instruction: “Do not open alcohol purchases until your final destination.”
