Drunk Brit who punched TUI flight attendant jailed for 21 weeks

The cabin manager said the woman’s behaviour was the worst he had encountered in his 20-year career

Cabin crew discovered a litre bottle of vodka in her hand luggage, which she denied drinking from (iStock)

An inebriated woman who punched a TUI flight attendant in the groin on a flight between Manchester and Kos has been jailed for 21 weeks.

Helen Butcher, 51, from Cumbria, launched into an abusive tirade, telling the male steward: “It doesn’t matter, you are f****** gay anyway.”

Throughout the four-hour flight, Butcher was abusive and foul-mouthed, refusing to be seated as the flight descended.

Butcher drank half a bottle of wine on the way to the airport and two vodkas in the bar before boarding the flight on 27 June 2017, reported the Manchester Evening News.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Butcher was travelling with her daughter when she was served a gin and tonic by a male flight attendant.

As the man moved down the cabin, Butcher punched the man in the genitals.

The man said he was in “intense pain” and told Butcher her behaviour was “wholly unacceptable”, said prosecutor Amanda Johnson.

Judge David Stockdale QC told Butcher: “Families who boarded that flight were put in distress.

“Children were seen to hold their hands over their ears so as not to hear your foul language.

“Nervous flyers were seen to be crying, such was their distress as a result of your behaviour. They had to be comforted by other passengers.”

Raquel Simpson, defending, said that Butcher had accepted that her behaviour was “appalling” and wanted to apologise to staff and passengers on the flight.

Simpson said that Butcher had a long-standing problem with alcohol and that she had drunk more in recent years to cope with the death of her father.

Butcher pleaded guilty to two counts of assault, one count of being drunk on an aircraft and one count of using threatening words or behaviour.

In an attempt to reduce the number of drunk and disorderly passengers at airports and during flights, a new campaign called “One Too Many” was launched last week by the UK Travel Retail Forum, the Airports Operators Association, the International Air Transport Association and Airlines UK.

The campaign aims to remind travellers that disruptive behaviour could result in them being denied boarding or even given a prison sentence.