The story of a man who climbed over three fences to sneak into the luggage hold of a Virgin Atlantic plane to 'smoke a cig’ has sparked alarm amid calls for boosted security at Manchester Airport.
Martin Rudzki, 35, who had been sleeping rough at the hub for five weeks and managed to jump out of the hold before take off, later said he’d thought the plane ‘looked cool’, Manchester magistrates heard.
Martin’s plight has raised concerns for his welfare, with many readers questioning why he was fined £100 by magistrates, but it’s also prompted questions over how he was able to elude the airport’s security team.
The Manchester Evening News has today asked Manchester Airport about the security breach and any action it intends to take as a result, as well as seeking comment from Virgin Atlantic.
It follows a flurry of questions from readers.
Described as ‘extremely alarming’ by one reader, another added: “This brings up issues of airport security if it was easy for a homeless person to do this it’s easy for a terrorist.”
Another added: “They should have paid him £100 for exposing airport’s security weakness. The big worry is he actually got on a plane.”
Someone else said: “This could have been a huge security threat with lives in danger.”
And one response read: “Security needs looking at.”
A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “Like all airports, we have robust procedures to detect and deal with any form of airside incursion.
“In this instance, these processes were swiftly and successfully followed, resulting in the offender concerned being apprehended and arrested.
“Operations at the airport at the time were not affected and the incident was quickly contained due to the measures in place.”
The incident is not the first case of a security breach at Manchester Airport. In 2007, a Manchester Evening News reporter was able to gain access to a restricted area in Terminal Two.
In 2013 a schoolboy from Wythenshawe managed to sneak on to a flight to Rome with no passport or boarding pass.
The latest incident took place in December last year when Rudzki was spotted by security officials wandering around an unauthorised zone smelling ‘strongly’ of alcohol.
Police spoke with Rudzki, who told them he had climbed over three fences from the Radisson Blu Hotel and entered a plane through the luggage hold in order to smoke a cigarette.
After he was arrested, he later told officers he had been walking along the Bluetube section of the airport when he saw the Virgin Atlantic carrier and thought it would be ‘cool’ to ‘go into the belly of the aircraft, smoke a cig and drink a beer’.
It was only when a member of staff removed the steps from the plane without knowing he was there, that he worried about it departing and jumped out of the cargo hold - shortly after he was spotted and challenged.
Rudzki, of Manchester , admitted entering a restricted area of an airport without permission, was fined £100 and made the subject of a restraining order, banning him from going back to the airport for two years, unless he had a valid ticket for travel.
In his police interview, he told officers he admitted the offence and had no malicious intent.
Rudzki was said to have no previous convictions.
Speaking from the dock, he told Manchester JPs that he was homeless at the time and his mental health was ‘in a bad state’.
“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 improvements, I started learning Italian and I’m possibly doing a Masters degree next year.”
Rudzki, of Wilmslow Road, was handed a £100 fine, £85 court costs and £34 victim surcharge.
