Emmet Moynihan, 31, has been fined £2,224 after admitting to boarding a British Airways flight while intoxicated and failing to comply with the lawful instructions of a pilot. The incident occurred on a flight from Heathrow to Las Vegas on August 6, when Moynihan was travelling to a stag do in the US city.
Incident on board
Moynihan, from South Douglass Road, Cork, "smelled of alcohol" when he boarded the flight. When informed that the flight was delayed, he attempted to use the toilet and branded the situation a "f****** joke". He "verbally abused staff" when instructed to return to his seat, the court was told.
Prosecutor Abigail Day informed Uxbridge Magistrates Court that "a passenger had also noticed that he smelled of alcohol and was clearly drunk" during the confrontation with the flight crew. She added: "Passengers then began filming him with their telephone and he was lunging towards passengers' phones saying 'stop f***** recording me'."
Court proceedings
The co-pilot was ultimately drawn into attempts to persuade Moynihan to take his seat. Moynihan's solicitor, Paul Turnbull, stated that his client had "got past everyone" in his intoxicated state and had only left his seat because "he wanted to use the toilet". He said: "The defendant was part of a group going to Las Vegas for a stag, there was an element of consumption in Cork and they had access to a lounge at Heathrow."
Footage of the incident was shared across the internet and amassed more than six million views, Mr Turnbull confirmed.
Sentence and impact
Moynihan pleaded guilty to both charges and was directed to pay a £2,224 fine, an £890 surcharge and £85 in costs. He travelled from Cork for his appearance at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Wednesday, dressed in a grey Levi's hoodie.
While passing sentence, Magistrate Sandra Joseph remarked: "There is only one reason we were not going to send it to the crown court, and that is that the plane was still on the ground and therefore passengers could have been evacuated. However, had they been in the air this would be a completely different matter."
