Passengers looked ‘visibly worried’ due to Wayne Scott’s behaviour
Police met the plane on the runway at Manchester Airport after receiving a call from cabin crew(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A drunken passenger led off a plane by police at Manchester Airport after a ‘disgusting’ episode during a flight has been jailed.
Wayne Scott, 47, was loud and verbally abusive during the Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Manchester, and appeared to be very drunk. Cabin crew decided to restrain him using cable ties until the police arrived, as other passengers became ‘visibly worried’ about Scott’s behaviour.
He was prosecuted and hauled before a judge at Manchester Crown Court, who jailed Scott for 23 weeks today (January 19). Prosecuting, Tanya Elahi said that police at Manchester Airport received a call at about 12.50pm on September 8 last year from staff on an incoming Qatar Airways flight from Doha.
They said a male passenger appeared to be ‘heavily intoxicated’ and was arguing with his father, who was also on board.
Scott became argumentative when he was asked to calm down. Asked if he could speak more quietly, Scott said: “Who’s making complaints about me?”
A member of the cabin crew took Scott to the back of the aircraft to speak with him. Scott said that his father had been diagnosed with cancer and that he was upset.
But when he returned to his seat, Scott’s behaviour continued and he began to use ‘foul language’ to other passengers. Some passengers, with families and children also on the flight, looked ‘visibly worried’.
Scott was again brought to the rear of the aircraft. As he made his way down the aisle, he was ‘stumbling’ and took a ‘boxing stance’, as if he was ‘about to throw punches at people’.
Cabin crew restrained Scott at the back of the plane, tying his hands with a plastic zip tie, and his legs with a seat belt. He was led off the plane by police after landing at Manchester Airport.
Defending, Joshua Normanton said that the incident was out of character for Scott, who has no previous convictions. He said that Scott was ‘absolutely horrified’ after watching his behaviour on body worn footage captured by responding police officers.
Telling the court that Scott was ‘deeply sorry’, Mr Normanton said: “He believes that he has completely ruined his life. He accepts his behaviour was disgusting.”
Mr Normanton said that Scott was experiencing a series of personal crises in his life around the time of the incident. His stepfather, who he had been close to, had recently died of cancer and his father had also been diagnosed with cancer.
Scott’s marriage had recently broken down, but Mr Normanton said the defendant has ‘hope’ that they will reconcile. Scott has a ‘good job’ in the metal and mining industry, living in Bahrain.
Mr Normanton said that if sent to prison, Scott would lose his job, which he needed in order to gain residency in the country. But Judge Tom Gilbart said he would be ‘failing in my public duty’ if he did not send Scott to jail.
He said: “This was abhorrent behaviour which caused considerable concern to those on the aircraft with you.” Scott, of Willowdale, Hull, pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft.