A Ryanair passenger, who was heavily intoxicated, has been sentenced to 10 months in jail after his disruptive behavior forced a pilot to abort a landing.
Stephen Blofield’s level of intoxication during the flight left both crew members and passengers feeling their safety was at risk.
The 61-year-old resident of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, caused a disturbance on a flight from Krakow to Bristol on November 11, 2025, as reported by Bristol Crown Court.
Blofield had been consuming double shots at the airport to calm his nerves after misplacing his medication for back pain, depression, and anxiety. His drinking continued on the plane, where he became verbally abusive towards the Polish flight attendants.
He loudly declared to other passengers, “I’m savage, I drink JD,” and when asked to settle by the crew, he retorted, “You can’t tell me what to do, I’m English.”
As the aircraft neared Bristol Airport, Blofield refused to sit down and fasten his seatbelt, compelling the British pilot to abort the initial landing attempt.
When the plane finally hit the tarmac, the police were waiting to arrest him – and went on to experience what one officer described as the ‘worst’ abuse he’s encountered in his profession of two decades.
The man’s abusive behaviour continued, as Blofield ‘struck out’ and ‘narrowly’ missed hitting another passenger as police tried to handcuff him, while he called one officer a ‘c***’.
Stephen Blofield (pictured) left passengers terrified for their safety due to his drunk behaviour on a flight from Krakow to Bristol on November 11 last year
Police were left with no other choice but to use an ambulift, normally used for disabled passengers, to remove Blofield from the shocked cabin crew and ‘marooned’ passengers.
Ian Fenny, prosecuting, told the court: ‘When the officers boarded the flight and approached him, they found him to be drunk, aggressive and confrontational.
‘Because of the confined space within the fuselage of an aeroplane, they were concerned that he might strike out and inflame the situation where they noticed that other passengers were already agitated.
‘Eventually he was arrested and handcuffed and indeed during this process he struck out, narrowly missing the passenger to his left.
‘The principal officer describes the defendant’s abuse as effectively the worst that he had to endure in 20 years as a police officer.’
Mr Fenny said Blofield’s behaviour was ‘so alarming and potentially dangerous’ that he had to be removed from the plane using an ambulift, which is normally reserved for disabled passengers.
Mr Fenny said: ‘As a consequence of the defendant’s behaviour, passengers were effectively marooned on board as the police, and most particularly cabin crew, tried to evacuate the plane quietly and safely,
‘Because of the defendant’s behaviour and because of where he was actually sitting within the plane, that proved very difficult.
The 61-year-old of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, has been handed a 10-month sentence at Bristol Crown Court – after he attended a previous hearing at North Somerset Magistrates in February
‘Thus, a number of the passengers had no option but to be further exposed to what was described by the police as the defendant’s vile verbal aggression.’
At a previous hearing at North Somerset Magistrates in February, Blofield pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft and using threatening or abusive language to cabin crew, failing to comply with the pilot’s instructions.
He also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Public Order Act of using threatening abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Sam Louwers, defending, said the defendant had lost his medication for back pain, depression and anxiety ahead of the flight to Poland – which he had visited to ‘trace’ his family roots – and turned to alcohol for the trip home.
Mr Louwers told the court: ‘Ultimately, Mr Blofield was a man who has come from a difficult background and eventually found himself in Poland due to tracing of family roots.
‘When he found himself in Poland without his medication, he went into a form of withdrawal, confining himself to his hotel room and decided on that basis that he needed to return to the UK earlier than planned.
‘When he got to the airport, his anxiety, depression, pain levels were sky high and he became incredibly nervous of flying and so foolishly decided that now would be the right time to settle his nerves, as many do, with a drink at the airport.’
He said the defendant had ‘no recollection’ of the incident but had seen videos posted on social media of his behaviour.
Mr Louwers added: ‘He’s never denied his behaviour, he’s never denied his actions, and as he explained to the police the reason he was struggling so much was because of that medical withdrawal.
When the plane finally hit the tarmac, the police were waiting to arrest him – and went on to experience what one officer described as the ‘worst’ abuse he’s encountered in his profession of two decades
‘Mr Blofield is distressed by his behaviour, he’s distressed as to what he has witnessed in these videos.
‘He is also distressed as to the fact that he has found himself before you today.
‘He understands that his behaviour could have easily, and has, disrupted other passengers and the airline.
‘He understands that it could have caused distress to other people, and most importantly, he understands that his behaviour is nothing short of unacceptable.’
Judge Euan Ambrose handed Blofield, who is on benefits and has a lengthy criminal record, a 10-month sentence.
He said: ‘This is a case where only a custodial sentence can be justified.
‘It is so serious that no other form of sentence would be appropriate.
‘You were drunk when you got on board and you continued to drink whilst on board, becoming increasingly drunk during the flight.
‘Your behaviour deteriorated, you became disruptive and aggressive and refused to follow basic safety instructions from the crew, such as being asked to sit down, fasten your seatbelt and matters of that sort.
‘You caused great concern and fear amongst fellow passengers and also fear and alarm to the crew.
‘Your behaviour was such that the first attempt at landing into Bristol had to be aborted and when the plane finally did manage to land, police were called and boarded the plane.
‘When they approached you, they found you drunk, aggressive, confrontational and extraordinarily abusive towards them.’
