A majority of younger Brits are in favour of the great British airport tradition of sinking a pre-flight pint before take-off, new polling has revealed – despite mounting calls for restrictions on early morning drinking in terminals.
The findings come after Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary sparked controversy by urging airports to crack down on alcohol sales before flights, warning that drunken passengers are increasingly causing chaos in the skies.
According to fresh polling by YouGov, public opinion remains sharply divided over whether airport bars should be allowed to serve alcohol in the early hours.
Overall, 49 per cent of Britons believe airports should stop serving alcohol in the morning, while 37 per cent disagree.
But younger adults are far more supportive of breakfast drinks before boarding than older generations.
Among 18 to 24-year-olds, only 34 per cent backed restrictions on morning alcohol sales, meaning most either opposed the idea or were undecided. Support for a ban then rises steadily with age, reaching 66 per cent among over-65s.
The debate erupted after Mr O’Leary claimed disruptive behaviour linked to alcohol was forcing flights to divert ‘almost daily’.
He has proposed banning alcohol sales in airport bars during the morning and floated the idea of introducing a strict two-drink limit for passengers.
Mr O’Leary also accused airport bars of ‘profiteering’ from excessive drinking while airlines are left to deal with the fallout once passengers are in the air.
But Tim Martin, the boss of pub giant JD Wetherspoon, has strongly rejected the proposal, branding it a ‘Big Brother’ response that would be difficult to police.
He warned that introducing drink limits could ultimately lead to passengers being breathalysed before boarding flights.
Speaking to The Times, Sir Tim said: ‘A two-drink limit would be extraordinarily difficult to implement, short of breathalysing passengers, and would, in our opinion, be an overreaction – especially since many of the problems stem from incoming flights.’
The pub boss insisted that alcohol accounts for only part of the business at airport branches of Wetherspoon, arguing that food, tea, coffee and soft drinks make up most sales.
He also said many passengers order alcoholic drinks alongside meals, and warned that tighter restrictions inside terminals could encourage travellers to drink before arriving at the airport instead.
Sir Tim added that airport pubs are ‘highly supervised’ and already have safeguards in place to prevent excessive drinking.
Unlike pubs on the high street, airport bars are exempt from normal licensing hours and can serve alcohol at any time to cater for round-the-clock flights.
Mr O’Leary believes they should instead face the same rules as ordinary pubs in a bid to reduce alcohol-fuelled incidents on planes.
He also insisted Ryanair is ‘reasonably responsible’ when serving alcohol on board, saying passengers are rarely allowed more than two drinks during flights.
Ryanair and Wetherspoon pubs have clashed on this issue before, when in 2024 Mr O’Leary made the same call for a two-drink limit in airports.
Wetherspoon boss Sir Tim Martin (left) has hit back against calls from Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary (right) to ban the early morning airport pint
The Flying Horse is another Wetherspoon at Gatwick, one of the chain’s eight airport locations
Other airlines like Jet2 are lobbying for a national database to help ban disruptive passengers flying on UK airlines.
It is a criminal offence to be drunk on board an aircraft and anyone convicted faces up to two years in prison and a hefty fine.
Threatening and abusive passengers can be further prosecuted. If the flight has to be diverted, offenders can be ordered to pay large compensation fees and be charged in the country where the aircraft is forced to land.
There have been a huge number of drunken incidents on planes and the Ryanair boss says flights from Britain to Ibiza, Alicante and Tenerife are the worst for forced diversions.
On April 26, a rowdy Ryanair flight from Newcastle Airport to Ibiza descended into a mid-air party as dancing passengers ignored furious cabin crew.
Brandon Stephenson later said he received death threats after videos of the raucous flight went viral, racking up more than 250,000 views and 10,500 likes.
