Emmet Moynihan, 31, from Co Cork, has been fined £2,224 after pleading guilty to entering an aircraft when drunk and failing to obey the lawful commands of a pilot. The incident occurred on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Las Vegas on August 6, where Moynihan was travelling to a stag do.
Drunk passenger's toilet row sparked abuse
Prosecutor Abigail Day told Uxbridge Magistrates Court that Moynihan “smelled of alcohol” when boarding the flight and was “clearly drunk” during an altercation with flight crew. After being told the flight was delayed, he attempted to use the toilet and called it a “f****** joke” before verbally abusing staff when asked to sit down.
During the incident, passengers began filming Moynihan, who lunged towards their phones saying “stop f***** recording me”. The co-pilot eventually intervened to get him to sit down, the court heard. Videos of the incident circulated online and accrued more than six million views, according to Moynihan's lawyer Paul Turnbull.
Defence cites stag do drinking and lounge access
Mr Turnbull said his client had “got past everyone” in his intoxicated state and was only up from his seat because “he wanted to use the toilet”. He added: “The defendant was part of a group going to Las Vegas for a stag, there was an element of consumption in Cork and they had access to a lounge at Heathrow.”
Moynihan, of South Douglass Road, Cork, flew in from the Republic of Ireland for his court appearance wearing a grey Levi’s hoodie. He admitted both counts and was ordered to pay the £2,224 fine, an £890 surcharge and £85 in costs.
Magistrate warns of airborne consequences
Sentencing, Magistrate Sandra Joseph said: “There is only one reason we were not going to send it to the crown court, and that is that the plane was still on the ground and therefore passengers could have been evacuated. However, had they been in the air this would be a completely different matter.”
The total financial penalty, including surcharge and costs, amounts to £3,199 for the Co Cork man, who was part of a group heading to Las Vegas for a stag celebration.
