Wetherspoon boss Sir Tim Martin has clashed with Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary after the latter called for a two-drink limit at airports.
O’Leary said on Tuesday there had been a rise in in-flight violence over the summer due to increasing drug and alcohol use, with fights now breaking out on a weekly basis.
“You have a higher rate of people on f***ng powder and alcohol, it’s the mix of f***ng drugs and alcohol,” he told reporters at a press conference in London, suggesting introducing alcohol limits at airports would help curb disorder.
But Martin, the head of the popular boozer, claimed passengers were actually getting drunk on flights.
“We have had no complaints about our pubs from the airport authorities or airlines, that I’m aware of, in recent years,” he told MailOnline in an interview.
He added that Wetherspoons, which owns seven pubs across the UK’s airports, had stopped offering ‘shooters’ and ‘double up’ deals.
“Years ago we stopped selling ‘shooters’ at airports, as well as ‘double-up’ offers. Ryanair in contrast offers a discount on Irish whiskey if a double is ordered.”
O’Leary said on Tuesday that “passengers fighting with each other” had become a “growing trend on board the aircraft [and]… the biggest challenge for our crews.”
He argued it is “not that easy” for airlines to identify people who are inebriated. “As long as they can stand up, they’ll get through… then, when the plane takes off, we see the misbehaviour.”
Restricting passengers to two drinks per boarding pass before entering the aircraft would be one of his three main recommendations for the new Labour government.
Ryanair has been approached for comment.