A woman who was ejected from a Tui flight called a police officer a “Nazi” after she consumed four double vodkas to treat her “flight anxiety”, it has been reported.
Jessica Chance, 37, and her sister were on the TUI flight from Manchester Airport when the police were called to the airfield at Terminal 2.
An unknown man had been denied entry to the plane due to intoxication. However, when the police arrived, they discovered the presence of Chance, hailing from Wakefield, at the base of the boarding stairs.
According to testimony from Manchester Crown Court, she was attempting to reboard the plane after being instructed to leave by airline staff, reported Manchester Evening News.
As police attempted to escort her into a police van, she engaged in verbal abuse, branding one of the officers a “Nazi”.
Subsequently, she confessed to the charge of entering an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol.
She said she had resorted to alcohol as a form of self-medication due to her apprehension and anxiety about flying. She was handed a suspended sentence.
On September 15 last year, police were called to the stationary flight after other passengers complained about Chance’s “rowdy and loud” behaviour. As officers attended, she was struggling with staff at the bottom of the plane’s boarding steps.
“Cabin staff confirmed that other passengers had told her to get off the plane, and after she got off the plane, she was trying to get back in,” Tobias Collins, prosecuting said.
Chance had to be put in handcuffs before she was placed in the back of a police van to stop her from running onto the airfield, it was said.
Her “drunken” behaviour continued, as she was abusive towards officers and used a derogatory slur towards one.
Mitigating for Chance, who was said to have no previous convictions or cautions, Ian Metcalfe said she had gone to her GP to seek a prescription due to a “high level” of anxiety about flying. She was suffering from mental health problems at the time for which she was prescribed medication, the court heard.
Mr Metcalfe said: “The GP was no longer issuing prescriptions for that particular cause. She, therefore, assumed she was able to pick something up at the airport to pacify her, but nothing was available. She confessed to self-medicating by drinking too much vodka.”
He said there was no risk of harm by her behaviour at the time, and she has since been dismissed from her job as a result of the court case.
Sentencing, Recorder Jennifer Cleeve said: “For passengers to reach a point that they have to complain about your behaviour, it shows that it must have caused some concern.
“You had drunk four double vodkas and some lager to assist with your anxiety. You drank an obscene amount of alcohol, this was not an attempt to ‘take the edge off’. However, you do not present a risk or danger to the public.”
Chance was handed four weeks imprisonment which was suspended for a year, and ordered to complete 120 hours unpaid work.
