Catherine Bush, an 'ashamed' Jet2 passenger who was thrown off a flight for screaming at cabin crew and slapping passengers has written an apology letter to the airline after she was banned for life.
The row was
sparked by the noise of children crying. She walked to the front of the plane
to confront other passengers before launching a verbal attack on the cabin
crew.
Witness
Samantha Fearon said Ms Bush then tried to get off the plane mid-flight.
'She kicked
the door many times, yelling 'Get me off
this f***ing plane - let me off now'. It was just so shocking.'
Ms Feardon
said she was worried and feared for her own life when the passenger took such
drastic action.
Another
passenger said Ms Bush became disruptive 'about an hour and 20 minutes' into
the flight.
“She came
to the front of the plane. She was really angry towards Jet2 staff and wouldn't
calm down. People were saying she was kicking off at the airport before she
even got on the plane.
'A customer
said something and she slapped him in the face. Then a man got up to try and
calm the situation before taking her to the back of the plane.'
The plane was forced to land in Vienna, Austria, where Ms Bush, was met by police before later being handed a £5,000 fine by Jet2.
Ms Bush was
on her way to Turkey for cosmetic surgery on her teeth. She was going to have
them whitened.
In a letter
to the airline, Ms Bush said there will 'never be an excuse' for her behavior,
adding that she was 'embarrassed' by the incident. She wrote: 'When I was
removed from the aircraft and released by the Austrian authorities I had a
psychotic episode and was stopped by Austrian police who then took me to a
psychiatric ward in Vienna.
'I was
strapped down to the bed by my arms and legs and given strong sedatives because
I was so hysterical, and a danger to myself and others. I was there just over a
day before I was allowed out of my restraints.
'I have
experienced psychosis before due to my mental health and it was very scary and
confusing for me.
'There will
never be an excuse to justify what happened and I take full responsibility for
my actions. I know it is no excuse, but I have severe mental health issues, I
have anxiety, depression and a personality disorder. This will never justify my
actions on board that aircraft but I felt I had to let you know how difficult
it is for me to do the most simple of tasks, things ordinary people take for
granted.
'Again I
apologise from the bottom of my heart that I caused so many people distress.'
Managing
Director of Jet2.com Phil Ward said: 'Ms Bush displayed a continued pattern of
appalling behavior on the flight and she must now face up to the consequences
of her actions. We have always made it
abundantly clear that, as a family friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance
approach to such behavior.
'Although
such incidents are very rare, it is unacceptable that our customers and crew
should have to experience it.
'We would like to apologize to anyone who had to experience this behavior and we would like to commend our highly-trained crew for their exceptional handling of this difficult situation.'
From Daily Mail (edited)
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