The boss of JD Wetherspoon has rejected calls for a limit on pre-flight drinking at airports after Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary called for the move to tackle disorder on flights.
Mr O’Leary said passengers should be limited to two drinks to crack down on antisocial behaviour and violence.
But responding to the call today, Sir Tim Martin says there have been “no complaints about our pubs from the airport authorities or airlines” in recent years.
He told the Telegraph that Wetherspoons airports no longer sell shots or “double up” offers.
“Ryanair, in contrast, offers a discount on Irish whiskey if a double is ordered,” he said.
Sir Tim also that said in the past month only 33% of sales at his airport pubs came from alcohol, with coffee, tea and soft drinks making up 25%.
Sir Tim says all his premises have CCTV to help identify any disorder.
He also said there’s evidence to suggest most cases of drunkenness and violence are on inbound, rather than out bound flights.
Mr O’Leary told the Telegraph yesterday that he didn’t want to “begrudge people having a drink” but added: “We don’t allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000 feet.”
According to Ryanair, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh are four of the most problematic airports for the carrier.
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