Stories of an emergency landing, punch-ups on flights and passengers taken away in handcuffs revealed in police logs
INTOXICATED passengers at Birmingham Airport were led off planes in handcuffs and in one case forced an emergency landing, newly-released files reveal.
But West Midlands Police only made seven arrests for being drunk and disorderly at the airport in 2018, slightly less than the 12 the year before, according to the incident logs.
The figures were released after the jailing of a drunk grandfather who hurled racist abuse at passengers on a Birmingham-bound plane.
Paul Adney, who had been drinking all day and night before boarding, also shouted: “I am a boxer. I have a gun so I can kill you if I want to.”
The 53-year-old upset families with young children with his ranting, Birmingham Crown Court heard in August. Adney, of Stratford Road, Shirley, who had previously admitted being drunk on an aircraft, was sentenced to six months in prison.
The files show how West Midlands Police responded to many similar cases over the past two years.
In one, a passenger had become “drunk and abusive onboard” and “consumed alcohol to the point whereby it had to be confiscated” before being arrested on the ground.
Another of the heavily-redacted logs states that the captain had radioed ahead about another drunk passenger who “was intoxicated and had been fighting with a person”.
The log states that “this had caused alarm among other passengers”.
An emergency landing had to be undertaken by another pilot due to a “drunken and disorderly person aboard”. The log reads: “Captain of flight requesting police assistance. Plane safely landed.”
On arrival, other passengers were told to remain seated while police entered the cabin and arrested the culprit. Assistance was also sought by a captain in the case of a drunken passenger who was led away in handcuffs.
The log says the officers “saw signs of intoxication, eyes glazed and smelt of intoxicants on breath, speech slurred”.
The abusive passenger had to be restrained and removed from the aircraft. The log reads: “Once off, hand- cuffed to rear, as was struggling.” A row between two passengers broke out in the bar of another aircraft, resulting in both being arrested after the plane landed. The log details how officers met one of the aggressive passengers, who had “been drinking heavily at the bar and had b e c om e increasingly intoxicated and started swearing and shouting with another passenger who had family.” Another disruptive traveller was escorted off a plane after Picture: Ian Genge, Post Flickr becoming “highly intoxicated & unable to stand”, according to a log.
In the airport, one passenger prevented from flying due to being intoxicated fell over but then began “swinging out at staff ”.
Officers gave the drunk “ample opportunity to calm down and go home” but the person continued to be “abusive and would not leave and was abusive to staff ”.
Officers arrested the person being drunk and disorderly.
Other incidents attended by West Midlands Police include a report of “guests fighting amongst themselves in the lobby” of a unnamed hotel near the airport.
One of the suspects was “under the influence of drink and possibly drugs”.
The unruly guest was described as “screamingly hysterically whilst also visibly upset” before being arrested after becoming verbally and physically aggressive to hotel staff and police officers. for