Drunk Jet2 passenger banned for life after ‘peeing in cabin and terrifying kids’
A drunk Jet2 passenger has been banned from flying with the airline for life after he ‘urinated inside the cabin’ and ‘intimidated children’.
Eric Forrest, 55, from Beith, a town 20 miles southwest of Glasgow, left children terrified and riders unnerved during the journey between Glasgow and Tenerife.
He displayed what the airline described as a ‘catalogue of disgraceful behaviour’, with the pilot diverting holidaymakers to Faro Airport, Portugal, last Thursday.
Jet2 accused Forrest of being ‘aggressive, illicitly consuming alcohol, intimidation towards other customers, suspected handling of illegal substances and urinating inside the cabin’.
After he was hauled off by local police, the aircraft had to be ‘cleaned’ before it could take off for Tenerife.
‘As well as causing a delay to customers looking forward to their well-deserved holidays in Tenerife, this also meant customers due to travel back to Glasgow from Tenerife had to spend another night in destination due to the late arrival of the aircraft,’ Jet2 said.
The airline and package holiday provider Jet2Holidays arranged overnight accommodation and refreshments for the grounded passengers.
The families finally touched ground on the island, the largest of the Canary Islands, the following day.
Jet2.com managing director Phil Ward said: ‘Mr Forrest’s behaviour was absolutely disgraceful, and we would like to apologise to all of our customers on board and colleagues who have been impacted or affected.
‘As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour and we would like to thank the Portuguese authorities for their assistance in offloading Mr Forrest.’
Ward added that the airline will, on top of banning him, ‘vigorously pursue Mr Forrest for all the costs that we incurred as a result of this diversion’.
‘This event should act as a stark warning to anyone who thinks that it might be acceptable to behave in an unacceptable manner onboard one of our flights,’ he said.
Speaking with the Scottish Sun, Forrest denied Jet2’s allegations that he urinated in the cabin – it was a bottle of vodka that he poured out, he claimed.
‘I agree that I was drinking that secretly. I was very much drunk. I was just drinking too much,’ he told the tabloid.
‘They said I was endangering the aircraft, but I wasn’t. I was already drinking the vodka prior to that, but that’s why I poured it out because I couldn’t drink it.”
‘Yes, definitely,’ he said when asked if he wants to apologise.
‘I had far too much to drink.’
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