Drunk Ryanair passenger attacked crew member as boyfriend twice moved to flee her

Catherine Bellis, 44, of Liverpool, repeatedly sneakily drank from the duty free bottle she had brought with her as she attacked her own partner, Christopher Kenny, and struck a member of the cabin crew

A Ryanair passenger was so drunk that her exasperated partner had to move his seat twice and the captain had to use the public address system to tell her off.

Catherine Bellis, 44, who had started on the vodka before even boarding the flight from Tenerife to Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport, continued to covertly sip from a duty-free bottle she had with her.

During the three-and-a-half-hour flight, she assaulted her partner, Christopher Kenny, hit a cabin crew member, and confronted other passengers asking “what you looking at?”

Prosecutor Derek Jones told Liverpool Crown Court today about the incident which occurred on November 26 last year on a flight scheduled to land at 3.20 pm. The couple were seated together initially, but cabin crew member Julie Pemberton noticed Kenny with his head in his hands.

Jones stated: “He indicated that he wished to move and that the defendant had been drinking vodka from the duty free bottle in her possession.” The mother-of-two, who also had two drinks from the plane’s onboard trolley, was cautioned against drinking from the duty-free bottle, and Kenny was reseated away from her in the middle of the aircraft.

According to Jones, Beata Haynes, a seasoned cabin crew member, first noticed Bellis when she approached asking for a can of coke while Haynes was pushing the refreshment trolley down the aisle, reports the Mirror.

Bellis was asked to sit and wait, with an apology issued. However, Haynes noticed Bellis pouring vodka into her coke, prompting a warning not to do so.

Twenty minutes later, other passengers informed her that Bellis was consuming duty-free alcohol.

“Matters escalated when she told her again not to drink the vodka and asked her to hand the vodka over. She argued and would not agree to that. Ms Haynes said she would tell the captain if she did not but to no avail,” Mr Jones explained.

The pilot then reminded passengers that drinking duty-free alcohol on board was prohibited and urged them to follow the cabin crew’s instructions. Pemberton spoke to the defendant who handed over the bottle but repeatedly requested more booze.

Bellis continued to cause a scene, seeking out Kenny and labelling him a “wife beater”. He was relocated to another seat, and on several occasions, Pemberton had to intervene between the feuding pair.

“At one point the defendant started shouting at Ms Haynes, words to the effect, ‘what the f*** does she think she is”, because she refused to serve any more alcohol. After the tannoy announcement she also called her a t*** and a c***,” Mr Jones recounted.

Pemberton witnessed Bellis threateningly punching her own palm before striking Haynes’ hand without causing injury. The two crew members moved her away, but she found her partner and hit him on the side of the head. Pemberton had to step in, escorting her back to her seat. Bellis barked at fellow passengers, asking ‘what are you staring at’, and Ms Pemberton had to intervene to prevent others from getting involved. “She described herself as babysitting the defendant for the remaining 40 minutes of the flight until touchdown,” Mr Jones relayed.”

Haynes found it a highly stressful situation, and Ms Pemberton noted that Ms Haynes was visibly upset.

The captain had to use the tannoy to instruct her (Bellis) to remain seated. Upon landing, police officers were waiting to apprehend Bellis.

Jones said: “She said she had drunk vodka prior to boarding, had another two on board and was then drinking out of the duty free bottle. She apologised for her actions and was remorseful for her actions and recognised her behaviour was unacceptable especially on board a plane full of other people.”

She was interviewed and fully admitted to her actions.

Bellis, hailing from West Derby, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault and being inebriated on an aircraft. A graver charge of behaving in a way likely to endanger an aircraft or its passengers was dismissed.

Callum Ross, defending, highlighted that Bellis has no prior convictions, has been gainfully employed at a local cafe for 13 years, and is described in references as “hardworking, kind and family-oriented.”

The woman and Mr Kenny remain in a relationship, with him showing his support by attending the court hearing. She has since begun talking therapy and has expressed deep regret over her actions, describing them as “the worst decision of her life.”

Judge Stuart Driver, KC, handed down a sentence of four months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, acknowledging that her behaviour was “completely out of character” and that she had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. He noted that she had demonstrated immediate remorse and confessed to her actions straight away.

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