Stag party causes Ryanair diversion
 

Stag party causes Ryanair diversion - BBC News

Six British members of a stag party on a Ryanair flight were arrested for allegedly drunken behaviour which forced an unscheduled landing in Berlin, police there say.

The men were flying from London Luton to the Slovak capital Bratislava.
The groom was among those detained for endangering security when the flight landed at Berlin's Schoenefeld airport. They were later released, but could face fines of up to €25,000 (£20,000) and a possible civil damages suit.


The group of 12 from Southampton were among 170 passengers on the Ryanair flight on Friday evening. As six of the party, including the groom, became drunk, they ignored crew instructions, a Berlin police statement said. When refused further alcohol, they became aggressive and one member of the group undressed, according to German press reports.


The pilot decided to make an unscheduled landing at Berlin's Schoenefeld airport, where the six men, aged between 25 and 28, were taken into police custody, but later released. The remaining 164 passengers, including the six members of the stag party who were not involved in the incident, were able to continue their journey to Bratislava.

Beer In = Wit Out..:ugh: I sincerely hope O`Leary sues them for the cost of the diversion...

When I first read this, I hoped the German authorities would throw a whole library of books at them, but it says they were released. What's going on?

The coppers claiming it took place outside their jurisdiction. Which, legally, might make perfect sense - I'm not a lawyer. My bet is they're already on their way to Bratislava, courtesy of the next LCC willing to take their money.

The authorities should have tattooed "DO NOT FLY" on their foreheads and then let them find their own way home.

Or am I just being grumpy this morning?

Crusify them if they got drunk from alcohol they brought with them.
Crusify Ryanair if they were allowed on board drunk, or if they were served too much alcohol on board.
A place serving alcohol on the ground could loose their license if they sell alcohol to drunk people.
The same should apply to airlines.

The BBC News article has now been updated to say that the six were charged by German police and subsequently released.

i too hope Ryanair sue them. Idiots like this do not deserve to fly.

That's good news. Iy would suggest they will need to return, at their own cost, to Germany for the court case. Is the the case, or did the offence take place on Irish territory, but in German airspace? Can the Germans pass it on to the Irish courts? Could they end up with a criminal case in one country and then a civil damages case in Ireland?
Escaping out of Berlin back to UK would not be cheap. I wonder what kind of 'stag night' the others had in Bratislava without a groom.

More booze for the rest, and probably more fun with the girls...

As a fairly regular traveller what does worry me is the blind eyes turned regularly by the gate staff to those not fit to travel through drink..Ok fair do`s most of the staff are female and almost always the drunks are built like Will Carling.That doesn`t excuse the handling Companies from their responsibilities though.

Last time out of LPL, it was the despatcher who stopped one drunk from boarding, at the bottom of the steps. Gate staff had let him through:ugh:

These incidents will continue until Airlines get more demanding with their agents.....oh hang on, er, how much more will that cost????? :rolleyes:

I doubt the airline has a case since they aided and abetted the booze per hour

Passengers - soft drinks make them hyper. Give them something to eat and they go into anaphylactic shock. Alcohol will most likely result in a diversion. Reclining seats just don't give them any. A side effect of their own pills is lewd acts. A bit of turbulence and they will snap because of air travel anxiety. A hard landing and they will sue you. Always remember to smile, thank them for flying with you and let them believe you hope to see them again soon.

Had a same incident with another budget airline at Alicante last August the orange one? Flight down big ruck stag party police waiting for flight at gate as the police officer mentioned until they stop selling the booze which is part of the airlines revenue just going to carry on

The problem for staff at the airport and crew is that it is very hard to spot stag parties as they often travel in disguise. I took this photo on Friday afternoon on the day of the alleged incident at Luton. As can be seen it is almost impossible to tell whether these passengers are on a potential stag weekend or are traveling to a new Priory. :E Apparently the group in question boarded the aircraft drunk at Luton

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...psexv3e4js.jpg

If those arrested are banned from flying in future (at least by the particular LoCo), yet are required to attend court (in Berlin), will they have to travel by ferry/overland? - or will they grace another LoCo with their presence?

Isn't BER just a little out of the way for a LTN-BTS flight? Perhaps I should rephrase as a question. How is a diversion airport chosen in cases like this?

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=LTN-BTS...S=best&RC=navy

Lotus 1...
 

Agree to an extent, but you would not believe the number of people who bring 1l bottles of vodka onto the aircraft - eve just for a short hop down to the Balearics. The Airport has a responsibility here. We do our best to stop it, but it is common to retrieve empty 1l bottles on the turnaround...

who bring 1l bottles of vodka onto the aircraft - but it is common to retrieve empty 1l bottles on the turnaround...


Especially as the 1L bottle is one of Highland Spring smelling strongly of vodka.

And't don't forget the coke bottle full of red wine, or the lemon fanta = white wine.

Bars selling alcohol 24/7 at the airport, bars selling alcohol 24/7 in the departure lounge, duty-free shops selling cut price alcohol in the departure lounge, cabin crew pushing alcohol-laden trolleys up and down the aisle during the flight.

Shock and outrage that some people get drunk. :rolleyes:


Short of misting it throughout the plane via the air conditioning, I can't think of anything else they could do to get any more alcohol into the passengers.

A diversion will be selected based on a number of factors. In terms of flying it will be weather, fuel, terrain, notams, approach type, performance. Operationally things like ground support, maintenance and fuelling are important. Availability of the police may also be a factor. SXF is more likely to have assistance as opposed to some of the smaller airports nearer the route. A combination of all of these factors will go into deciding.

Avoiding a €47,250+ liability thanks to EU261 will also play a role in deciding what happens to flights too.

I have great sympathy with CC who have to put up with illicit drinkers and drunks. Perhaps other passengers could play a pro-active role to make sure they don't get delayed by a divert or offended by 'high jinks' (very high jinks). They could have a word with gate staff at boarding card check or even CC on boarding ... or is that just 'not cricket'?

Personally, I cannot get the idea of these stag and hen parties. But there again I'm an oldie.

However, a large group of young men/ young women are surely going to ring bells somewhere!

I hope they throw the book at them. But unfortunately, it's bound to infringe their human (!) rights.

Where are we going here?

I hate it when I'm on flights where there are these parites even if they're relatively well behaved. They just embarrass themselves in their stupid outfits!

CB

Stop giving them ideas.

I have been told (never tried it) that if you are in a sauna and pour vodka over the stones, it does just that. Into the lungs, into the bloodstream. Apparently you can go from sober to out of your tree in almost a matter of seconds. "I sure picked a hell of a day to give up sniffing glue"

Drunkenness in aircraft
139.—(1) A person must not enter any aircraft when drunk, or be drunk in any aircraft.

Allowing the people to board in the first instance is against the ANO and as such I don't think Ryanair has a leg to stand on, Worse than this they have a legal duty to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew.. if this were the US there would be streams of court cases following this event. Of course its small beer ( forgive the pun) but again free publicity for Ryanair. the " caring airline"

I also think the obscene prices charged on board, has an influence on pre-loading at airport bars. It must be 90%, or more, profit on flights to non-EU destinations as the airlines charge full VAT / duty inclusive prices but don't pay a penny to the exchequer. Bar-stewards.

Was at BRS the other day and got a pint of Butcome at the airport bar. On the flight to GVA a 33ml crap lager cost more (and they paid zero VAT/Duty). Bar-stewards.

You'd have to raise that with the caterers. Its their products the airlines sell. They take the money. It's their POS devices used to process payments. The airlines just take a commission and don't decide where tax is paid or exempt. The prices are obscene in your opinion. However I bet a double branded spirit and branded mixer will be a similar price in a city bar, and compared to downtown GVA are pretty cheap.

If people want to drink, they'll drink regardless of the cost onboard. A stag do won't arrive at an airport and think 'let's look at at the nice things to buy in the shop' or 'let's sit down for a nice green chai latte' knowing that there's cheap drink onboard. I doubt the onboard prices even crossed the minds of this lot. They drink at the airport because they want to get drunk and know there's very little chance of the airport turning down their request for drink.

From the sounds of it, this group were disruptive before doors closed, so did their behaviour escalate throughout the flight, or was it consistently bad right from the start?

If it did get worse, was the captain aware of potential problematic pax before departure, and were they kept informed regarding the groups' behaviour throughout the flight before the decision to divert? Or did the CC unsuccessfully try to deal with the situation themselves before bringing the problem to the skipper?

If the flight crew were aware on the ground still, did captain give them an ultimatum during the flight of behave or get arrested, or did it "come as a surprise" to the group when the flight was div'd?


Every situation is different, but I would have to consider telling the passengers to put up and shut up, or the plane would be diverted and they would be removed from the aircraft.
Over the pa if necessary. Apologising to the rest of the passengers for a small groups' behaviour whilst condemning the groups actions, and telling them (for all passengers to hear) that if they did not begin to follow all crew instructions and behave appropriately they would be arrested when the aircraft was on the ground.




Not criticising the crew, there isn't really enough information to say what happened. Just thinking out loud.

And therein lies the problem.

Back when I worked in bars and clubs during my time at uni, I got paid no matter how much I sold or refused to serve customers.


I was actively encouraged by the personal licence holder not to serve to those who did not have ID and may have been underage, or those who were significantly intoxicated (i.e. drunk and loud but civilised was fine, but can barely stand/walk/talk or aggressive was not).

When I was a supervisor I likewise made sure others refused sales where appropriate, because I knew I'd lose my job if it came to it.



I understand that for airlines there will always be an incentive to sell alcohol (where it is not complimentary already), but if there was a DISinsentive to refuse to serve those who are drunk (such as likely chance of a disciplinary or worse, or a personal fine) then that would surely reduce the problem I'd have thought.




As a passenger myself, I've seen plenty of other passengers who are obviously too far gone and yet they continue to be served.

Although on the other hand I've also seen very diplomatic cabin crew who manage the situation very well.

"Sorry sir, we're all out of Bacardi I'm afraid. Yes, and the Smirnoff too I'm afraid sir."
*moves to the next row*
"Yes madam, what would you like? Vodka and coke? Coming right up"

"Passengers - soft drinks make them hyper." Whaa..? The Sugar - Hyperactivity link has been proven false over 6 years ago by several separate double-blind scientific studies. Perhaps there is a caffeine link to hyperactivity, but sugar? Nope. Of course, alcoholic beverages due contain sugar, but that was not the direct cause of the poor behavior of the yobs..

Originally these sort of incidences resulted in custodial sentences, now they are so common that many have been watered down with a slap on the wrist. Until this country gets strong with justice sadly crime will just spiral out of control.

In this case FR being an Irish registered company so do they come under UK jurisdiction when flying from a UK airport?

The crew will probably earn 10p each commission per drink they sell. This is then taxed/NI deducted/student loan deducted. Now we are down to about £0.06 per drink. Its really not much of an incentive, trust me.

Now, let's consider this happened 30/40 minutes into the flight. Cabin crew start the service 10-15 minutes into the flight.

Even if we assume the offenders were at the front or back rows and served first, how many drinks do we estimate they had time to drink? One? Two if they necked the first one?

The problem will be the airport bought litres of spirits. This has nothing to do with 'high' onboard prices. It's airports wanting to make money and stags who what to drink theirselves silly.

High onboard prices has nothing do with it. It's people who want to get drunk. Period. Those same people will quite happily spend £4 for tea and biscuits or £3 for a can of red bull that's 50p in the supermarket. Why? It's because they have a need that needs to be fulfilled. On the way out that need is getting drunk. On the way back it's dealing with the hangover.

I was crew for years and can't think of one drink fuelled incident that the crew caused. On rowdy flights it's a one drink maximum. That tiny tin of beer is a drop in the ocean and is neither here nor there. Refuse alcohol completely and they start to get really difficult. Which is what happened on this flight. Airlines are getting better at t all the time. Credit most of all should go to Jet2. However my airline politely emails those who've been unruly and tells them their return flight is cancelled - find another way home. That makes me happy.

There’s been a long-running idea that duty free items could be picked up at the other end. That would mean them travelling in the hold or secure storage in the cabin, or even bought from an exit facility at destination. Anything purchased on board could be handed over when disembarking.

This would a) stop people drinking the contents on the aircraft and, more seriously, b) stop passengers evacuating down the slides in an emergency with bags full of glass and flammable liquid. If picked up at the far end, it would save quite a bit of weight on the flight, too.

Having watched the video, that is one of the worst things I've ever witnessed onboard. A complete and utter bully, allowed to rampage unchallenged by crew. If a situation developed whereby someone has to stand in between two people to stop a fight, then that is the most serious situation and requires an immediate landing.

The male CC and the female CC had absolutely no authority, no presence having let this happen for a good two minutes. The male CC response to an out of control situation in the cabin was a couple of mumbled words, then challenges someone filming it a few rows back. Priorities?? The female one wasn't much better either.

Unfortunately as there's no blacklist they'll probably fly on with another airline, ready to rampage again.

FullWings - good idea, but airports make their money mainly on departing outbound passengers when they're benefitting from the holiday factor where people are more likely to spend. This will cost them, and they won't support it. Airports care not about safety. Apart from mandated security screening, once that's over the job of e airport is to extract as much cash as possible from the passengers. Nothing else.

evansb, I didn't know the sugar hyperactivity myth had been busted, thanks. Came across another label - Responsibility Deficit Disorder (RDD).

Our friends to the east of our continent are exactly the same unfortunately when it comes to drink.

Never done them but the Scandinavians like a good drink too apparently. And who can forget Mr Arthorsson of Icelandair fame? Speed tape anyone?

Let's ban everything !
 

Above we have a list of things to be banned, travel on an airliner is quite unplesent enough without the ban police making it even worse just to stop the odd inccident from 0.00001% of the passengers.

So what is proposed above is that 99.9999 % of the passengers who are law abiding suffer for the behaviour of the few !

Apart from a little more control by the staff at the gate and a policy of prosecuting in 100% of these cases ( both criminal & civil) I can't see anything that needs to be done as any other measures are just infringing the rights of the vast majority of the law abiding passengers.

Please remember we are running the airline business for the law abiding passengers, not the very few disruptive idiots and not fall into the mindset of the tabloid press who's instant call is " ban everything "

Sorry to say old chap, but you´re too late.

In current times, we forbid more because previous bans on the same subject have not produced the desired results.... that happens everywhere, like on the road where the limit was 100km/h and 4 drunk teens/twens kill themselves with massive overspeed, the authorities then put up a 70km/h sign, cause its a "accident hotspot". Won´t help the drunk drivers going too fast, but hey, never mind...

Whilst this is true, the situation is exacerbated by the differential cost of alcohol between the Scandinavian countries.

When the ferries were the means of travelling between them,you could always spot the Swedes and the Norwegians as they would have their drinks 'lined-up' to keep them going during the crossing.

There were plenty of times that I flew UK/Switzerland/UK and I never paid for a beer once ... with Swiss, I was tempted to quote "you get what you pay for" but often Swiss were cheaper than LCC's!

But credit where credit is due ... SAS, the only airline I've flown with that served low alcohol beer, I had my car to drive after landing and SAS served the perfect alcoholic beverage under the circumstances.