Joshua Parfitt
SUMMERTIME, and the living is easyJet!
This video shows the moment an off-duty pilot flew himself to his own holiday in Alicante.
EasyJet captain Michael Bradley flew the plane from Manchester Airport after passengers faced a two-hour delay due to a missing pilot.
Phoning up his airliner before passing security, Bradley offered his services as he was still carrying his licence and ID.
“Thirty eight 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?” Bradley explains to passengers in a now-viral video of the make-believe experience.
Commenting on his casual dress, Mr Bradley stressed he’d ‘stuck a pair of shoes on just in case’.
The off-duty pilot continues: “So if you’re alright for one of your pilots to look like this today, we’ll go to Alicante.”
The decision was met with cheers from passengers on board.
In a Facebook post of the video, Michelle Potts, from Denton, says: “It could only happen to me.
“I get to the airport and our flight is delayed a couple of hours, then I happen to look at the original time and it’s suddenly changed to gate closing.
“Get to boarding and asked the guy at the desk what’s going on. He said: ‘Oh your pilot’s gone missing but a guy that’s going on your flight is going to fly the plane.’ Really casually!
“Luckily the guy was actually a pilot! Probably would have been cancelled if it wasn’t for him. Legend.”
A spokesman for easyJet said the flight’s delay was ‘due to the knock on effects of the French ATC failure on Sunday’ which impacted on crew and meant they had to rely on standbys.
The spokesman told MailOnline: “We are grateful to one of our pilots who was travelling on holiday from Manchester to Alicante on 2 September with his family and volunteered to operate the flight.
‘This meant customers could get to their destination and shows the commitment and dedication of our crew.
“This is fully in line with regulations as he had his licence and ID with him. Safety is always our highest priority.”
The spokesman said the incident was ‘exceptional’ and added Michael was well rested, having previously had four days off, and was legally permitted to fly the aircraft.
