A Jet2 passenger noticed a can of beer in the cockpit during a recent flight from Alicante (ALC), Spain, to Birmingham (BHM), England. The traveller, Steve Lewis, photographed a can of Stella Artois sitting next to one of the pilots.
“The plane had landed and the seatbelt light came off. I stood up to get my suitcase and as I did the cockpit door opened and I noticed the can in the cockpit,” Lewis told the Metro. “I turned to my partner Steven, who didn’t believe me at first, but then he noticed you could clearly see the Stella branding.
He added that he was stunned to see alcohol so close to the flight deck. “I was so shocked, I couldn’t understand why there was alcohol in the cockpit.”
Lewis said he was unsure whether the can had been left there accidentally. “I’m a bit skeptical to whether it was there because someone had left it,” he said. “It concerns me that alcohol is even allowed in the cockpit if it was open or not.”
After the incident Lewis reported what he had seen to the airline. According to him, the initial response suggested the can had not been brought on board that flight, which left him feeling disbelieved. “I felt like I was being accused of lying,” he said. “This is what upset me the most, I explained to her that I could prove it was taken on the Alicante to Birmingham flight and she replied to say that the can had been given to the pilot for safe keeping.”
Jet2 later provided a clarification. In a statement to the Metro, the airline confirmed that, on review of the photograph, the can was unopened and had been handed to a member of cabin crew by a customer while disembarking.
“Upon further investigation of the photograph, we can confirm that it is an unopened can which had been handed to a member of our cabin crew by a customer when they were leaving the aircraft,” an airline spokesperson said. “This unopened can was then put down in the cockpit by the member of cabin crew so that she could continue helping customers as they disembarked.”
The airline’s account frames the presence of the unopened can as a temporary and practical measure taken by cabin crew during passenger disembarkation, rather than any indication of consumption in the flight deck. Passengers who observe safety concerns are encouraged to report them to the carrier so they can be investigated and clarified.