Ryanair launches criminal proceedings against disruptive ‘UN diplomat’ passenger

Ryanair has initiated a private criminal prosecution through the Spanish courts against a passenger who disrupted one of its flights from the Canaries.

In a communique issued yesterday the airline announced that it was taking a tough stance on the delay caused to flight FR2001 from Lanzarote to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain on 17 January. This passenger’s inexcusable behaviour caused a 40-minute departure delay and unnecessary disruption to 137 passengers.

The passenger, who claimed to be a UN diplomat with “diplomatic immunity”, attempted to take a seat that was not assigned to him and became verbally abusive when crew asked to see his boarding card. He was eventually removed from the flight by the island’s Guardia Civil.

Ryanair says it operates a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will not hesitate to take decisive action to combat unruly behaviour for the benefit of all passengers and crew, to ensure a safe and enjoyable travel experience for everyone.

An airline spokesman said:

“It is unacceptable that passengers, many of whom are on a family holiday, are suffering unnecessary delay as a result of one unruly passenger’s behaviour. Yet this was regrettably the case for passengers on this flight from Lanzarote to Santiago in January, during which a disruptive passenger caused a departure delay due to his misconduct.

We have initiated a private criminal prosecution against this passenger, in which the court may impose a sentence of 3-12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of 6-18 months’ salary.  These are just some of the potential consequences under Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy for passengers who disrupt flights.

We hope this example will deter further disruptive behaviour on Ryanair flights, so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment as is their right.”