Ryanair has filed a claim for over €15,000 in damages against a passenger who allegedly disrupted a flight from Dublin to Lanzarote.

The incident, which occurred last April, forced the flight to land in Porto where it was delayed overnight, disrupting the journeys of 160 other passengers.

A Ryanair spokesperson said the move demonstrates “one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy, and we hope this action will deter further disruptive behaviour on flights.”

Alcohol being consumed by someone on a plane. Image: david pearson / Alamy. 27 November 2010

Newstalk’s Business Editor Joe Lynam said that Ryanair has previously complained about the lack of alcohol sales limits at airports.

“This is the first time - that I’m aware of - of an Irish airline taking a civil suit in the Courts against an individual for disrupting a flight,” he said.

“Ryanair has long complained about the authorities failing to act in the face of disruptive and often drunken passengers on planes, and it has called for limits on alcohol sales in airports before people get on planes.”

In a statement, the company has said that it is completely unacceptable for hard working people to have a trip ruined by "one passenger’s failure to behave".

Featured image: Ryanair aeroplanes with the control tower in the background at Dublin Airport. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/© RollingNews.ie