United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Drunk and violent Jet2 passenger jailed for six months
A 21-year-old man has been jailed for six months for abusive and aggressive behaviour which forced a Jet2 flight to be diverted.
Joshua Strickland, from York, had illicitly drunk his own booze during the flight from Leeds Bradford to Larnaca.
He threatened a Cypriot family and also verbally abused a member of the crew, before the pilot took the decision to divert the plane to Manchester where he was arrested by Greater Manchester Police.
Strickland appeared at Manchester Crown Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to being drunk onboard an aircraft and received a six-month jail sentence.
Jet2.com had already issued Strickland with a lifetime ban and tried to get him to pay £10,300 towards the cost of the diversion, but the judge pointed out that he was unemployed and on benefits.
Phil Ward, managing director of Jet2.com, said: "Joshua Strickland’s violent outburst was absolutely unacceptable and caused a lot of distress plus significant delays for our customers.
"Our customers, many of whom are families, should be able to look forward to an enjoyable flight experience with us and we will not let a disruptive few spoil this. We will take whatever action necessary to stamp it out.
"Passengers should be in no doubt that the consequences of abusive and unruly behaviour onboard aircraft do lead to custodial and financial penalties."
As part of its crack down on bad behaviour on flights, Jet2 has banned the sale of alcohol onboard all flights before 08:00BST.
Its campaign has seen 500 passengers been refused travel and over 60 of these given lifetime bans.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Walt Leger on New Orleans’ Resilience and Major Events Ahead
Cindy Mackin Shares Estes Park’s Winter Thrills
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Report: Cruise guest died after ship lashed in heavy storm
British teen in serious condition after paraglider collision