Disruptive Jet2 passenger handed prison sentence

A JAIL term has been handed to a disruptive passenger whose behaviour resulted in a flight diversion from Leeds Bradford to Manchester last month.

The Leeds-based airline, part of the Dart Group, said it was “thrilled” by the decision from Manchester Crown Court to give a prison sentence to Joshua Strickland, 21 from York.

The airline alleged that Strickland had been consuming alcohol illicitly on the flight which was bound for Larnaca in Cyprus.

It told the court that he threatened a family and verbally abused a cabin crew member.

Jet2 pilots decided to divert to Manchester where Strickland was arrested and charged by Greater Manchester Police.

Strickland pleaded guilty to being drunk onboard an aircraft and received a six month prison term.

Jet2.com said it is “vigorously” pursuing to recover £10,300 for the costs of the diversion and has issued him with a lifetime ban. However the judge pointed out that Strickland is unemployed and on benefits.

Phil Ward, managing director of Jet2.com, said: “We are thrilled with the decision by Manchester Crown Court today. Joshua Strickland’s violent outburst was absolutely unacceptable and caused a lot of distress plus significant delays for our customers.

“Our customers, many of whom are families, should be able to look forward to an enjoyable flight experience with us and we will not let a disruptive few spoil this. We will take whatever action necessary to stamp it out. Passengers should be in no doubt that the consequences of abusive and unruly behaviour onboard aircraft do lead to custodial and financial penalties.”

Jet2 recently announced that it would be banning the sale of alcohol on flights before 8am.

It says that so far more than 500 passengers have been refused travel and over 60 of these have been given lifetime bans.

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