Rhianna Benson
There's nothing more guaranteed to put a dampener on a family vacation than a delayed flight... other than a cancelled flight, of course.
In these situations, don't you just wish you could hop on a plane and fly there yourself?
Well, for one easyJet passenger recently, this became a very vivid reality, after they unexpectedly found themselves in the cockpit.
Manchester man Michael Bradley had learned just hours prior that his flight to Alicante, which he'd booked to enjoy a well-deserved holiday with his wife and their little boy, had been severely delayed.
According to passengers on board the flight to Spain, the pilot had 'gone missing'.
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But, being a licensed easyJet pilot himself, Michael thought it best to bring his professional ID along with him to Manchester Airport, on the off-chance that he'd be allowed to fly the plane.
And, in an unprecedented move, this absurd proposal actually ended up becoming a reality, after Michael was given the go-ahead to fly his fellow passengers to Alicante.
In a video which has since gone viral on social media, the easyJet superhero can be heard telling his fellow holidaygoers on the tannoy, that their long-anticipated vacation would, in fact, be going ahead, despite major delays, because he was going to get them there himself.
"My wife who's on row 15 with my little boy - hopefully he's asleep by now, I should keep it down or else I'll get told off," Michael can be heard telling passengers.
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"She rolled over and punched me in the back of the head and said 'our flight's delayed by two hours because they are minus one captain for the flight'.
"So, just before we went through security I thought, I wonder if this is worth a phone call, I think it is because I'd like to go on holiday."
He went on: "I phoned up easyJet and said 'Hiya, I'm standing in the terminal doing nothing. I have got my licence with me - deliberately from being punched in the back of the head at 3am.
"'I have got my ID with me and I'd very much like to go on holiday and if you need a favour I'm standing here ready to go.'
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"They said 'we'll phone you back'," Michael continued. "Thirty eight seconds later they phoned me back and said 'please, please pretty please with a big cherry on top, can you fly the aeroplane to Alicante?'"
Pointing out his casual attire, but emphasising he'd put on an official pair of pilot shoes 'just in case', Michael said: "So if you're alright for one of your pilots to look like this today, we'll go to Alicante."
His announcement was met with cheers from the passengers.
One mum onboard the two-hour flight to Spain recorded Michael's message, later sharing it on Facebook to express her sheer surprise.
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"It could only happen to me!! Get to the airport and our flight is delayed a couple of hours..." she wrote on the social media app.
"Then I happen to look at the original time and it changed to gate closing!! Had to leg it across the airport to get on the flight...
"Get to boarding and asked the guy at the desk what's going on.
"He said, 'oh your pilot's gone missing but a guy that's going on your flight is going to fly the plane ' REALLY CASUALLY!!!
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"Luckily the guy was actually a pilot!! Probably would of been cancelled if it wasn't for him! Legend."
A spokesman for easyJet later told the Manchester Evening News that the flight's delay was 'due to the knock on effects of the French ATC failure on Sunday', which impacted on crew and meant they had to rely on standbys.
He said: "We are grateful to one of our pilots who was travelling on holiday from Manchester to Alicante on 2 September with his family and volunteered to operate the flight.
"This meant customers could get to their destination and shows the commitment and dedication of our crew.
“This is fully in line with regulations as he had his licence and ID with him. Safety is always our highest priority."
LADbible has contacted easyJet for a comment.