A drunken passenger who proposed to a flight attendant before turning violent forced a Jet2 plane to return to Leeds-Bradford Airport, a court has heard.
Matthew Taylor, 30, had taken cocaine and consumed six pints of beer in the departure lounge before boarding flight LS491 to Alicante on 18 August. As he stepped onto the aircraft, the father-of-two immediately asked cabin crew member Brooke Crossley to marry him.
Soon after take-off, Taylor became disruptive. Prosecutor Corey Boothe told Leeds Crown Court that he removed his seatbelt, shouted at passengers, and refused to sit down. He yelled at staff: “You can’t tell me what to do, you can’t tell me what to f------ do.”
Miss Crossley, visibly shaken and in tears, alerted the captain just eight minutes into the flight. The incident was declared a “Level 2 emergency,” and the aircraft carrying 148 passengers — including families and elderly travellers — was diverted back to Leeds.
Taylor’s aggression escalated when fellow passengers attempted to help crew members. He threw punches at one man and hurled abuse at staff, calling them “little b----es” and warning: “Get ready for World War III when police arrive.”
The court heard Jet2 had to deploy a replacement aircraft and crew, delaying the flight to Spain by more than two hours and costing the airline thousands of pounds.
Taylor admitted entering an aircraft while drunk. The warehouse worker from Doncaster told probation officers he had a £200-a-week cocaine habit and had taken the drug alongside alcohol before the flight.
His barrister, Daisy Wrigley, said he was “remorseful, ashamed, and full of regret.”
Judge Penelope Belcher, after reviewing passengers’ mobile phone footage of the 50-minute ordeal, sentenced Taylor to 10 months in prison and ordered him to pay a £187 surcharge. She said his behaviour carried a “risk of catastrophic consequences.”