A Department of Education psychologist broke down in Cork Circuit Court yesterday as he told how he was asked to leave an Aer Lingus flight at Dublin Airport after urging his fellow passengers to protest at a delay.
Mr Patrick Doyle (59), of Ardoyne, Wilton Road, Cork, was suing Aer Rianta and Aer Lingus for assault, false imprisonment and breach of contract following his removal from an Aer Lingus Dublin Cork commuter flight on August 11th, 1991.
Mr Doyle told how, after being held up for 21/2 hours in Manchester earlier that day by an Aer Lingus delay, he boarded another Aer Lingus flight to hear the captain announce there would be a delay because he had no cabin crew.
Mr Doyle said he assured the foreign visitors on board that Ireland was not "a banana republic" but said Aer Lingus had humiliated the Irish people on board. He was asked by an air hostess to sit down.
He sat down and asked the hostess to invite the captain to come and explain the cause of the delay, but neither of them returned.
Mr Doyle said he asked the hostess to clarify if the cabin crew on board were too fatigued to fly to Cork. He then turned to the other passengers, urging "You really should support me or we could all be here for a very long time.
Two Aer Rianta police officers came on board and approached him. One introduced himself as Officer Moran and they told him "that on the captain's orders, I was being taken off the flight".
Mr Doyle explained that he was simply seeking clarification on flying times, but he agreed to leave with them. On the way, one of them caught him by the wrist. "I'm a professional psychologist. I was numbed by what was happening," said Mr Doyle, breaking down.
The officers asked him his name which he gave. He asked them if he was being arrested and they told him he was. They then escorted him into the airport terminal
He was taken to the Airport Police office where he asked if he could see a solicitor or ring his wife. "Officer Moran told me `You have no rights here'." Two gardai arrived and took him to Santry Garda station. He was detained for 30 minutes but was permitted to make a phoned call, and gardai arranged for a taxi to bring him to his son's apartment.
Cross examined by Mr Don McCarthy, for Aer Lingus, Mr Doyle denied saying the crew were too tired and it was no longer safe to stay on the plane. He disagreed that saying the crew were tired could have caused a disturbance among passengers.
Following a recess, Mr O'Mahony told Judge Patrick Moran his client had agreed a settlement with both Aer Rianta and Aer Lingus and asked for the matter to be struck out, which Judge Moran duly did.