A majority of younger adults are still firmly in favour of the traditional pre-flight airport pint, despite renewed calls from Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary to crack down on early morning drinking in terminals.
Fresh polling by YouGov has revealed a sharp generational divide over whether airports should stop serving alcohol before flights, with younger travellers far less supportive of restrictions than older passengers.
The findings come after O’Leary argued that airport bars serving alcohol from as early as 5am or 6am are contributing to rising levels of disruptive behaviour onboard flights.
Speaking to The Times, the Ryanair chief executive said he believes airports should follow traditional licensing hours and introduce tighter controls on alcohol sales.
“It’s becoming a real challenge for all airlines,” he said.
“I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning. Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?”
O’Leary also suggested introducing a strict two-drink limit for passengers before boarding.
“We are reasonably responsible, but the ones who are not responsible, the ones who are profiteering off it, are the airports who have these bars open at five or six o’clock in the morning,” he said.
“During delays they are quite happy to send these people as much alcohol as they want because they know they’re going to export the problem to the airlines.”
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The comments reignited debate around one of air travel’s most enduring rituals — the airport pint before take-off.
According to the new YouGov polling, opinion across Britain is almost evenly split.
Overall, 49% of Britons said airports should stop serving alcohol in the morning, while 37% opposed restrictions.
However, attitudes varied significantly depending on age.
Among 18 to 24-year-olds, only 34% supported restricting morning alcohol sales, meaning most younger adults either opposed the idea outright or remained undecided.
Support for a ban increased steadily with age, eventually rising to 66% among over-65s.
The findings suggest younger travellers continue to view the airport pint as part of the holiday experience, even as airlines warn about the growing impact of alcohol-fuelled incidents in the skies.
The issue has become an increasing concern for airlines across Europe in recent years, particularly on popular holiday routes where cabin crews have reported rising levels of disruptive passenger behaviour.
Last year, Ryanair announced it had begun taking legal action to recover costs linked to flight diversions caused by drunk passengers.
Diversions can result in major expenses for airlines, including emergency landings, overnight accommodation, replacement crews and operational disruption affecting hundreds of passengers.
While calls for stricter rules continue, airport drinking remains deeply embedded in travel culture for many holidaymakers — particularly younger passengers heading abroad for breaks and stag or hen trips.
For critics of tighter restrictions, the airport pint is viewed less as excessive drinking and more as an unofficial signal that the holiday has officially begun.
Whether airports eventually move toward stricter alcohol controls remains unclear, but the polling suggests any attempt to ban the early morning pint could face resistance from younger travellers who still see it as part of the experience.
