Passenger pilots EasyJet flight to avoid two-hour delay

London Gatwick, March 15th, 2018: Passengers boarding an Airbus A320 easyJet airplane at London Gatwick's North Terminal
By Alexandra Coulton


There are not many things worse than arriving at the airport, ready for a much needed holiday, only to be met with a lengthy delay.

One man was seemingly so off-put by the prospect of facing an airline delay that he offered to pilot the plane himself.

Off-duty pilot Michale Bradley was preparing to go on holiday with his wife and young child when the family were informed they would be facing a two-hour delay due to a missing pilot.

Michelle Potts, a passenger on the flight, posted a video to Facebook showing Bradley telling passengers what had happened.

Bradley told the passengers, who were travelling with EasyJet from Manchester, UK to Alicante, Spain, that he brought his pilots ID to the airport after his wife told him about the delay.

“I phoned up EasyJet and said, ‘Hi, I’m standing in the terminal doing nothing.’ I have got my licence with me,” he said.

“‘I have got my ID with me and I’d very much like to go on holiday and if you need a favour, I’m standing here ready to go.’

“They said: ‘We’ll phone you back.’ 38 seconds later they phoned me back and said: ‘Please, please pretty please with a big cherry on top, can you fly the aeroplane to Alicante?’”

“So if you’re all right for one of your pilots to look like this today, we’ll go to Alicante.”

Bradley, who works for the airline, was met with wild applause from his fellow passengers.

An easyjet spokesperson told Business Insider Bradley flying the plane was “fully in line with regulations as he had his flying licence and pilot’s ID with him.”

“We are grateful to one of our pilots who was travelling on holiday from Manchester to Alicante on September 2 with his family and volunteered to operate the flight,” the spokesperson said

“This meant customers could get to their destination and shows the commitment and dedication of our crew.”

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