Homeless man snuck on plane at UK airport ‘to smoke a cigarette and drink a beer’

Martin Rudzki, 35, scaled three fences to get on the Virgin Atlantic plane – which he said he did because he thought it looked ‘cool’

A man has been issued a restraining order after sneaking into a plane’s baggage hold to “smoke a cigarette and drink beer” and then jump out before he left.

Martin Rudzki, 35, scaled three fences in order to get on the Virgin Atlantic plane – which he said he did because he thought it “sounded cool”.

Rudzki, who is homeless, had been sleeping rough on Manchester Airport grounds for five weeks before committing the offence, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.

However, in December last year he was spotted by security guards wandering through an unauthorized area smelling “strongly” of alcohol, The Manchester Evening News reported.

When police spoke to Rudzki, he told them he had climbed three fences from the Radisson Blu hotel and entered a plane through the baggage compartment in order to smoke a cigarette.

After being arrested, he later told officers he was walking along the Bluetube section of the airport when he saw carrier Virgin Atlantic and thought it would be ‘cool’ to ‘walk into the belly of the plane, to smoke a cigarette and to drink”. a beer’.

It wasn’t until a member of staff removed the steps from the plane without knowing it was there that he grew concerned he was leaving and jumped out of the cargo hold – shortly after being spotted and arrested.

Rudzki, from Manchester, admitted entering a restricted area of ​​an airport without permission, was fined £100 and subject to a restraining order, prohibiting him from returning to the airport for two years, unless he has a valid ticket to travel.

Tina Cunnane, prosecuting, told the court that on December 11 last year, at around 2:15 p.m., security personnel saw Rudzki in the unauthorized area, they knew he was not an employee because he was not wearing high visibility clothing and did not have an airfield pass.

“He smelled strongly of intoxicants. He said he was a new employee, it was not believed and he was provided with transport to bring him back to safety,” she said.

“The police were called and the accused was questioned. He confirmed that he had climbed three fences near the Radisson Blu hotel, that he had entered an airplane while on the ground of aviation and that he had gone into the baggage compartment to smoke a cigarette.

“When charged he said he admitted it and he said he had been sleeping rough at Manchester Airport for five weeks.

“He said he was walking along the Bluetube when he saw the Virgin Atlantic plane and admitted he thought it would be cool to get into the belly of the plane, have a cigarette and drink a beer.”

Rudzki then bought a can of beer from the airport Spar before heading to the airfield, the court heard.

He then “explored the area” before going to the cargo hold.

During his interview with the police, he told officers that he admitted to the offense and had no malicious intent.

Rudzki reportedly has no previous convictions.

Speaking from the dock, he told judges in Manchester he was homeless at the time and his mental health was “in poor condition”.

“I came to Manchester, I was sleeping rough at Manchester Airport,” he said.

“It was just out of curiosity, I wanted to see the plane. There was no intention to damage it or hurt anyone, it was just curiosity.

“I’m sorry. I was really peaceful, I told them [the police] I was having a bad day. I’ve made real progress, I’ve started to learn Italian and maybe I’ll do a master’s next year.

Rudzki was fined £100, court costs of £85 and a victim fine surcharge of £34.

He was also ordered not to go to the airport for two years unless he had a valid ticket to travel, under a restraining order.

At the time of his sentencing, Rudzki replied, “That’s more than reasonable.”