A drunken easyJet passenger became verbally abusive towards cabin crew after he was denied alcohol, a court has found.
Anthony Taylor, 44, caught the attention of an air steward after appearing drunk on a flight from Bristol to Newcastle in February last year.
Taylor quickly became enraged after he was refused service as a result of his drunken behaviour.
After cabin crew explained why he was being denied booze, the 44-year-old snapped: “You can all f*** off, I’m getting alcohol and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
A drunken easyJet passenger became verbally abusive towards cabin crew after he was denied alcohol
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GETTYTaylor added: “You are all a bunch of c****.”
The disorderly passenger was later arrested at Newcastle Airport after a air steward contacted the police via air traffic control.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that the 44-year-old’s abusive rant came as the plane was experiencing turbulence.
The air steward who was at the receiving end of Taylor’s abuse told the court that the ordeal left him feeling appalled.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that the 44-year-old’s abusive rant came as the plane was experiencing turbulence
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The crew member told the court that the role requires him to look out for the well-being of passengers – and “that’s all I was doing”.
The easyJet worker added: “Unfortunately this type of incident is happening more and more.”
Taylor’s lawyer, Peter Sabiston, told the court that his client is a hard-working individual and provided positive character references in his defence.
The 44-year-old pleaded guilty to a public order offence, and will be sentenced on March 16.
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The disorderly passenger was later arrested at Newcastle Airport (pictured) after a air steward contacted the police
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GETTY
Judge Gavin Doig told Taylor: “You have convictions for being drunk and disorderly and excess alcohol so I’m worried about your use of alcohol.
“If there has been no further incident, I’m likely to impose a financial penalty but if there has been any further trouble it won’t be a fine.”
A survey conducted by GoCompare found that just under a fifth (17 per cent) of travellers say they have been on a flight that was disrupted by drunken passengers.
EasyJet and Ryanair were named as the airlines where travellers have had their flight disrupted due to the behaviour of tanked-up flyers most frequently.
According to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), incidents of unruly passengers causing havoc on flights globally rose by eight per cent last year.
This equates to around 259 daily and roughly 11 incidents taking place every hour.
IATA said: “An intoxicated passenger can become a danger to themselves and others on board the aircraft.
“In the event of an abnormal or emergency situation, the intoxicated passenger would likely be less able to comprehend, cooperate, respond, follow instructions or evacuate the aircraft.”