Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has singled out Ibiza as the “worst” destination for unruly passenger behavior, sparking fresh calls for stricter measures to tackle the issue.

The popular airline has observed a “notable rise” in disruptive incidents linked to alcohol and drug use, which have become the top concerns for cabin crew.

Mr O’Leary highlighted that flights to and from popular beach destinations, particularly Ibiza, have seen a significant increase in aggressive behavior fueled by substances such as “powder” or “tablets”. 

He said: “Ibiza is by far and away the worst destination for it,” underlining the severity of the problem on these routes.

The Ryanair chief noted the airline now regularly deals with assaults on a weekly basis, a trend not confined to Ibiza alone.

Similar issues have been reported on flights from Greek islands to various regional airports in the UK, including Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, and Edinburgh.

To combat the growing problem, O’Leary explained Ryanair has implemented measures such as bag searches to prevent passengers from bringing alcohol on board. He also recently called for airports to impose a two-drink limit to stop passenger violence during flights.

However, the challenge persists across other routes, including those to and from Ireland and Germany.

Sinead Quinn, Ryanair’s Director of Inflight, added that the culprits often defy typical stereotypes, being “the people you least expect.”

Mr O’Leary’s comments come as the airline grapples with not only the broader implications of increased passenger misconduct, but also the aftermath of the global IT outage which severely disrupted air travel.

He said: “I think we can never say there won’t be another one.

“We live in a digital age and I live in fear all the time about my reservation system crashing or digital payments going wrong… everybody’s business, everybody’s experience on a daily basis is at the mercy of these major IT providers.”