A drunk man who attacked staff at Leeds Bradford Airport last year has been sentenced.
Robert Smith, 45, had managed to get through the gate for his flight at the airport on May 18, 2022 after denying being drunk. He was heading to Tenerife on a Jet2 flight at 4.20pm, and had already been spotted by staff knocking over a stool in the airport bar, West Yorkshire Police said.
But as Smith, of Lawns Green in New Farnley, headed along the walkway to board, he bumped into the glass panelling. He was stopped by staff, who told him he couldn't board the flight while drunk.
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He was abusive towards a female member of staff, who then called for help from her colleagues. Staff told a pleading Smith again that he could not board drunk, and that he would need to be escorted back through border control.
Smith then made threats and began attacking staff. Bar staff and members of the public had to help restrain him until police and security arrived and arrested him.
As a plainclothes detective was handcuffing him, Smith headbutted him in the face. Smith was then placed in leg restraints, put in a police van wheelchair and taken into custody.
He later admitted two counts of common assault. On Monday, January 30, he was sentenced at Leeds Magistrates Court to eight months in prison, suspended for a year.
He was also given an alcohol abstinence and monitoring order for 90 days, 250 hours of community service and an order to pay £120 to each of his three victims.
Sergeant Anne Haydock, of the Leeds Bradford Airport Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “It is a criminal offence to be drunk on an aircraft, and airline staff have the right to refuse passengers who are suspected of being intoxicated from boarding. Disruptive behaviour such as drunkenness can be a potential risk to the safety of the aircraft and can also result in aircraft diversions that cause significant inconvenience and cost.
“Airline staff, and the police officers who support them, should be able to carry out their duties without having to face the kind of completely unnecessary threats and violence they encountered during this incident.
“Incidents such as this will always be treated seriously and attract criminal charges. We hope Smith’s conviction and sentence for these offences will remind people of how unacceptable behaviour such as this is.”
Phil Ward, Managing Director at Jet2.com said: “As a family friendly airline we take the issue of disruptive passenger behaviour very seriously and have led the way to clamp down on it. We welcome this sentencing, which sends out a strong warning that such behaviour will not be tolerated by the courts.
"Disruptive passenger behaviour can lead to very serious consequences such as banning orders and financial penalties, and as this case proves, severe court action. In the interests of the comfort and well-being of our customers and colleagues onboard, we will continue with our zero tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour.”
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