A Ryanair passenger was so drunk when she landed in Ireland from Alicante that she believed she was still in Spain, a court has heard.
Ciara Bradshaw, 38, from Limerick, was arrested when she landed at Shannon airport last month.
She pleaded guilty to two charges under the Air Navigation and Transport Act for her drunkenness and verbal abuse of staff at Ennis District Court in County Clare, reported the Irish Times.
The court heard that Ms Bradshaw had consumed “a toxic mix” of alcohol, including Bailey’s Irish Cream and Smirnoff vodka, as well as prescription medication Xanax before the flight because she was a nervous flyer.
The plane captain said that the crew were worried that Ms Bradshaw was so drunk during the flight that she might put other passengers at risk.
Ms Bradshaw's solicitor, John Casey, said that upon landing that she was in “such a state that she thought she was still in Spain, she didn’t realise that she was back in Ireland”.
Judge John King said: “What makes this worse than a general public order offence is that this happened in the aircraft cabin and there is nowhere for people to go.”
Ms Bradshaw told the court she phone to police station the following day to apologise.
She was ordered to pay €500 (£447) into the court poor box to avoid a conviction.
It follows news that the number of drunk and disruptive passengers arrested on planes at UK airports fell by 25 per cent last year, according to official data.
Some 87 travellers were arrested on planes from April 2018 to April 2019, compared to 117 during the same period the previous year.
The Independent has contacted Ryanair for a statement.
