Drunken passenger threatens to ‘blow up’ Glasgow airport

Officers held Jonathan Cresswell when he made the threat to the police after calling them to ask why his friend had been apprehended.

Paisley Sheriff Court yesterday heard how the pair had been on an incoming aircraft that had just arrived and were expecting to transfer to another flight.

Cresswell’s companion was arrested after police spoke to him. Cresswell then went to the visitor information desk and asked to talk to someone, claiming it was “an emergency”.

Staff there called airport police and handed the accused the phone to let him speak to an officer, and he said: “If I don’t get police here in 15 seconds, I’m going to blow the f*****g place up.”

Depute fiscal Ian Logan told the court: “At that point, being concerned about what had been said, police officers were instructed to attend and, as Cresswell handed the phone back to the member of staff on duty at the visitor information desk, he told her: ‘Not really – my friend just got arrested for talking to police and we’ve got a plane to catch’.”

When officers arrived, they found the airport employee “in a state of distress” over what had happened and they arrested the accused, who was found to be in an intoxicated state.

In court, Cresswell, formerly of Leslie Road, Pollokshields, Glasgow, and now of Redcap Gardens, Shaw, Swindon, admitted conducting himself in a threatening manner during the incident on 20 November last year, threatening to detonate an explosive device and committing a breach of the peace.

Defence agent Phil Rooney said his client had recently moved to England and had a restricted income as he was in the process of looking for employment and surviving on benefits.

Cresswell understood that conduct such as his would not be tolerated but he had been drinking and became aggravated when his friend was arrested and wanted to know why that had happened.

Sheriff Colin Pettigrew said: “This is a serious matter. We cannot have people like you making such threats to staff at the airport.” He added, however, that because of the lack of record and his limited income, a fine, which would have been £500, was out of the question.

The 42-year-old was made the subject of a community payback order requiring him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.