Easyjet flight attendant, 48, ‘was drunk on plane’ and arrested by police when her flight from Alicante landed at Newcastle airport
- Julie Birkett from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, no longer works for easyJet
- Ms Birkett is charged with performing aviation function while unfit through drink
- She is due to appear before magistrates in North Tyneside on September 4
An easyJet cabin crew member was arrested and escorted off a plane at Newcastle Airport after allegedly being drunk during the flight.
The captain of the flight alerted air traffic control as the plane from Alicante was about to land at Newcastle early on Saturday.
Police were then sent to the plane and arrested a member of the cabin crew who was believed to be under the influence of alcohol.
An easyJet cabin crew member has been accused of being unfit to perform her job by having alcohol in her system (file photo)
Julie Birkett, 48, of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, has now been charged with performing an aviation function whilst unfit through drink. She is due to appear before magistrates in North Tyneside on September 4.
Birkett no longer works for easyJet. The two-and-a-half-hour flight set off from Alicante-Elche Airport in Spain just before 11.40pm local time and arrived into Newcastle Airport at around 1.10am on Saturday.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: ‘In the early hours of Saturday, police were contacted by Air Traffic Control at Newcastle Airport who reported a cabin crew member on an incoming flight was believed to have been under the influence of alcohol.’
A spokesperson for easyJet said: ‘We can confirm that flight EZY6420 from Alicante to Newcastle was met by police at the request of the captain.
The airline says that the 48-year-old no longer works for easyJet (file photo shows the inside of an easyJet plane)
‘A crew member was arrested, subsequently charged and no longer works for easyJet.
‘As this is a police matter we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation. easyJet has a zero tolerance policy on drugs and alcohol and our rules and regulations are very clear. The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority.’