Too Drunk to Disembark: Police Called to Help Jet2 Passenger off Flight

An over-indulging passenger was escorted from a Jet2 flight from Malaga when he was too intoxicated to get up from his seat upon arrival in Manchester.

A Jet2 passenger earned a hefty fine after entering a guilty plea to charges that he was too intoxicated to get out of his seat by the time his flight from Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport (AGP) arrived at Manchester Airport (MAN). The 57-year-old flyer admitted in a Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ courtroom that he had consumed a half-liter of duty-free vodka during the trip home from a resort holiday in Spain.

According to court records obtained by the Daily Mail, Bradley Underwood bought the bottle of vodka as a gift for his son, but he decided to sample the spirits during the flight. “He got on the plane and had a drink himself and then he found he had drunk more than expected,” Bradley’s lawyer told the court. The lawyer noted that his client remained in his assigned seat and did not behave aggressively towards crew members or other passengers. Although flight attendants reported that Underwood responded to efforts to wake him with loud shouting, his actions were not described as abusive.

Prosecutors countered that after the plane had emptied, cabin crew members found Underwood still slumped over in his seat. When the inebriated passenger failed to respond to flight attendants’ attempts to rouse him, police were then summoned. According to responding officers, Underwood had noticeably slurred speech and was “struggling to walk” when he was taken into custody after being escorted from the aircraft.

“I accept that when passengers boarded the plane you caused no difficulties for them,” District Judge Mark Hadfield admonished Underwood at sentencing. “But something had happened on the plane because the crew had asked for assistance from the police.”

Underwood entered a guilty plea to a single count of being intoxicated on an aircraft. The Jet 2 passenger who overstayed his welcome was ordered to pay just over $400 in fines and court fees.