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Eight months jail for drunk air passenger
A DRUNK South Yorkshire airline passenger who went on the rampage 30,000 feet in the air after cabin crew caught him trying to gatecrash first class has been jailed for eight months.
Paul Hoyland, aged 42, downed two litre bottles of vodka during the flight from Manchester to Cuba and tried to invade the first-class compartment of the Boeing 757.
During the nine and a half hour flight Hoyland, of Highfield Road, Swinton, near Rotherham, stumbled around the aisles hurling abuse and reduced passengers to tears.
His own daughter - aged 15 at the time - was so upset by his behaviour she went to sit with the crew to hide from him.
When the Thomas Cook jet landed in Cuba the joiner was told he would not be allowed to fly home with the company - and had to fork out 700 to get back to the UK.
Hoyland pleaded guilty to one count of being drunk on an aircraft.
Jailing him at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court Judge Jeffrey Lewis said: "Despite the sentences which courts pass, the message doesn't seem to get through to people like you who think nothing of behaving in the way in which you did."
He added that Hoyland's behaviour was disgraceful and said: "You were obnoxious, aggressive and intimidating."
Lisa Boocock, prosecuting, said cabin crew staff became suspicious of Hoyland six hours into the flight when he was found in the first-class area requesting coke and ice even though he only had an economy ticket.
Staff became suspicious that he was drinking alcohol - and after initially denying it, he conceded that he was.
Miss Boocock said he was aggressive and abusive, leaving flight manageress Nicola Cardoza feeling intimidated.
She added: "She later saw the defendant stumbling down the aisle in first class. He looked drunk, he looked irate. Various passengers were approaching, complaining that he was drinking and was aggressive towards other passengers.
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"The manager genuinely feared for other passengers' safety and said the language he used was disgusting and foul."
Adam Watkins, defending, said Hoyland had now "substantially reduced his consumption of alcohol and very rarely drinks".
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