Flight attendant quits after toilet incident
A flight to Amsterdam from Birmingham, England was forced to turn back around after a passenger became “aggressive and abusive” during a bathroom emergency.
Fox News report that Tabberner and three of his “loud and rowdy” friends had boarded the Flybe flight earlier this year but when he was told to buckle up for takeoff, he immediately asked to use the bathroom. He was told to wait.
According to records from the Birmingham Magistrates Court, flight attendant Robyn Pascoe, who appeared in court on Monday, claimed Tabberner then threatened to pee “on the floor” if he wasn’t allowed to go.
Just a few moments after takeoff, Pascoe said she used the bathroom herself as the captain had given the OK for the flight crew to move about the cabin. But when she exited the bathroom Tabberner was waiting outside the door.
“I went to the toilet but when I came out he was waiting trying to get in,” Pascoe told the Birmingham Mail.
“I told him he had to go back to his seat as the seat belt signs were still on, but he kept saying, ‘You have been to the toilet, so why can’t I?’
“It was a confined area and he was waving his arms around aggressively and shouting. I felt terrified. I have experienced rowdy behaviour on flights before but nothing like this in seven years.”
Tabberner eventually returned to his seat, but another flight attendant took note of the incident and informed the pilot.
The plane was then diverted back to Birmingham and Tabberner and his friends were escorted off the aircraft by police, the Birmingham Mail reported.
Pascoe further claimed that Tabberner’s behaviour gave her such anxiety that she quit her job after seven years in the air.
Tabberner denied being aggressive toward Pascoe and told the judge that he was simply “dying to go to the toilet” and “literally bursting” as soon as he set foot on the plane.
He said he was “upset and confused” when he was told he needed to return to his seat.
Nevertheless, a judge found Tabberner to be at fault and ordered him to pay $2700 in fines, court costs and compensation.