Catherine Bellis, 44, repeatedly swigged from a bottle of duty-free vodka she brought onto the Ryanair flight from Tenerife to Liverpool, and even started a fight with her own partner
A Ryanair flier was so drunk on the flight that her distressed other half shimmied seats twice, and the pilot had to use the public announcement system to tell her off.
Catherine Bellis, 44, was drinking vodka even before getting on the flight to Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport from Tenerife. She snuck a duty-free bottle on board the flight which she bought in the airport. Her plane drama escalated during the three-and-a-half hour journey as she lashed out at her partner, Christopher Kenny, took a swipe at a cabin crew member, and spooked passengers by aggressively asking “what you looking at?”.
Prosecutor Derek Jones recounting the flight from November 26 last year in Liverpool Crown Court yesterday. The flight was set to land at 3.20pm, and the mood soured when a member of the crew spotted Mr Kenny sat with his head buried in his hands.
“He indicated that he wished to move and that the defendant had been drinking vodka from the duty free bottle in her possession,” they relayed. The mum-of-two had already bought booze on the plane from the drinks’ trolley, and was cautioned about her duty free vodka, resulting in Mr Kenny’s relocation to the plane’s middle, well away from her boozy antics.
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A second crew member noticed Bellis while navigating the aisle with the drinks cart. After being told to sit and wait, she was served a coke. However, the crew spotted the woman sneakily adding vodka into the drink and swiftly cautioned her against it.
Despite the warning, other travellers said that Bellis had proceeded to indulge in her duty-free liquor just 20 minutes later.
“Matters escalated when she told her again not to drink the vodka and asked her to hand the vodka over. She argued and would not agree to that. Ms Haynes said she would tell the captain if she did not, but to no avail,” reported Mr Jones.
Flight rules were reiterated by the pilot, who reminded all on board about the prohibition of consuming duty-free alcohol and the importance of adhering to cabin crew directives. In response, crew confronted the unruly passenger, who eventually surrendered the bottle, but continued to pester for more booze.
Amid the chaos, Bellis sought out Mr Kenny, labelling him a “wife beater”. He was relocated multiple times, and a crew member had to step in to shield him from confrontation.
“At one point the defendant started shouting [at the crew], words to the effect, ‘what the f*** does she think she is”, because she refused to serve any more alcohol,” said one staff member. “After the tannoy announcement she also called her a t*** and a c***,” Mr Jones added.
Staff observed Bellis menacingly punching her own palm, before lightly hitting a crew member’s hand, luckily with no harm done. When she caught sight of her partner again, she struck him on the head, prompting crew to intervene and escort the troublemaker back to her seat.
Bellis was heard yelling at fellow passengers, “what are you staring at?”, and crew had to intervene again to prevent others from getting involved. “[They] described [themselves] as babysitting the defendant for the 40 minutes left of the flight until the plane landed,” Mr Jones relayed.
The captain had to use the tannoy to instruct Bellis to sit down in her seat. Upon landing, police officers were waiting to arrest Bellis, noticing she was drunk, slurring her words and unsteady on her feet. She was interviewed and made full admissions.
Mr Jones added: “She said she had drunk vodka prior to boarding, had another two on board and was then drinking out of the duty free bottle. She apologised for her actions and was remorseful for her actions and recognised her behaviour was unacceptable especially on board a plane full of other people.”
The defendant, Bellis, from West Derby, Liverpool, admitted two counts of common assault and being intoxicated on an aircraft. A graver charge of acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or passengers was dismissed.
Callum Ross, defending, highlighted that Bellis had no previous convictions and had been gainfully employed at a local cafe for 13 years, with references describing her as “hard working, kind and family orientated”.
The woman and Mr Kenny remained in a relationship, with him showing his support by attending the court hearing in the public gallery. She initiated talking therapy sessions and expressed deep regret over her actions that day, describing them as “the worst decision of her life”.
Judge Stuart Driver, KC, handed down a sentence of four months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He acknowledged that her behaviour was “completely out of character” and took into account her diagnoses of anxiety and depression. The judge also noted that she had demonstrated immediate remorse and confessed to her actions without hesitation.
