Twin sisters found themselves before a court following a drinking spree that caused their flight to be rerouted back to the airport, with their holiday in tatters and vomit lining the floor of a TUI passenger flight.
One of the twins, Laura Butterworth, exhibited ‘incoherent, volatile and abusive’ behaviour, eventually being ejected from the plane at Manchester Airport after vomiting in the aisle and kicking off. Her sister Katie Butterworth was labelled ‘argumentative’ for failing to comply with instructions to remain seated.
Both aged 34 and university-educated, the pair instigated chaos on board just as the aircraft was gearing up to jet off to Fuerteventura. Describing the intended trip, Katie Butterworths defence at Manchester Crown Court said: “The holiday was simply to have an inexpensive break in the sun for a week with her sister, which didn’t go to plan.”
The prosecution painted a picture of the events, noting how on June 1 this year, the twins boarded the TUI-operated flight, choosing seats across different aisles yet directly one behind the other. An altercation erupted when Laura Butterworths’s bag tumbled into the aisle, spewing its contents and leading her to insultingly accuse the adjacent passenger of knocking it off, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Described by prosecutor Adam White as ‘vile’, Laura’s subsequent spat extended to her own sister. A decision was made by the cabin crew manager to separate Laura Butterworth, who was deemed ‘completely incoherent’ and combatively ‘volatile towards myself and other crew members.’
According to the cabin crew’s testimony, mother-of-three Katie Butterworth asserted she had done nothing wrong while rising repeatedly from her seat, despite being instructed otherwise.
The manager made the call to turn the plane around and return to the terminal due to disruptive behaviour, leading to the removal and arrest of two individuals.
After facing charges, Katie Butterworth expressed her frustration: “I got blanketed with Laura, they couldn’t tell us apart. They treated us as the same person, everything she did I got equal blame for and I wasn’t the same. I don’t like throwing her into it but it’s not fair, it wasn’t like that.”
Katie Butterworth, from Redhill Drive in Stockport, admitted to intentionally interfering with an aircraft crew member’s duties, while Laura Butterworth, of Lapwing Lane in Brinnington, confessed to boarding an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol.
Defence for Katie Butterworth, Sarah Hussell, argued that her client had only consumed two glasses of wine before the flight and was not ‘intoxicated’. She highlighted that Katie, who owns a ‘successful printing business’, had been under considerable stress prior to the flight, dealing with home schooling her child and arranging a payment plan for debts.
“The holiday was simply to have an inexpensive break in the sun for a week with her sister, which didn’t go to plan,” Ms Hussell said. Defending Laura Butterworth, Naomi Duckworth stated that the defendant had expressed ‘deep remorse’ for her actions which were ‘totally out of character’.
She mentioned that Butterworth is currently unemployed but is ‘working through the recruitment process’ for a job with the fire service, and they are aware of her conviction.
During sentencing, Judge Patrick Field KC addressed the twins: “Some people think it is acceptable to drink to excess before they get onto an aeroplane, and then inflict their entitled and obnoxious bad behaviour upon fellow passengers and aircrew alike. Well it isn’t.
“You are twins, you are both 34 years old, intelligent and well-educated women. You should both have known better than to behave in the way you did.”
To Laura, he said: “You were so drunk that you were incoherent, volatile and abusive. It is said that you described another passenger’s behaviour as vile. I think that epithet was perhaps more apposite to describe your own behaviour on this occasion.”
Regarding Katie, who claimed she had not been intoxicated, the judge remarked: “You had had so much that your behaviour was less inhibited than it should have been.”
Both sisters received 12 month community orders.
Katie Butterworth was instructed to complete 60 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days. Laura Butterworth was directed to fulfil 120 hours of unpaid work.
