A recent easyJet flight from Manchester, England to Alicante, Spain was almost canceled because they didn't have a pilot who could fly the plane. Luckily for the stranded passengers, an off-duty easyJet pilot happened to be on board with his family and offered to fly the commercial jet.
Michael Bradley found out that his flight had been delayed because of an air traffic control failure in France before he left for the airport. As a result of the failure, there were multiple delays and the airline was having trouble finding a pilot for the aircraft.
Bradley decided to pack his pilot's license and headed to the airport with his family. Just before going through security, Bradley called up easyJet to find out if he could help out and fly the plane. The airline was more than happy to let him step in and pilot the jet to Alicante.
Before entering the cockpit, Bradley addressed the passengers to assure them that he knew what he was doing and told them how he ended up flying the plane.
"I phoned up easyJet and said 'Hiya, I'm standing in the terminal doing nothing. I have got my license with me. I have got my ID with me, and I'd very much like to go on holiday, and if you need a favor, I'm standing here ready to go. They said: 'We'll phone you back.' Thirty-eight seconds later they phoned me back and said: 'Please, please pretty please with a big cherry on top, can you fly the airplane to Alicante'?"
The passengers erupted into applause and Bradley, dressed in his vacation clothes, flew the aircraft to Alicante.
EasyJet released a statement saying that Bradley was "well-rested" and "legally permitted to fly the aircraft."
“We are grateful to one of our pilots who was traveling on holiday from Manchester to Alicante on September 2 with his family and volunteered to operate the flight," a spokesperson said. "This meant customers could get to their destination and shows the commitment and dedication of our crew.”