An off-duty pilot taking his family on vacation ended up flying the plane they were traveling on Monday after it was delayed by a missing pilot.
The pilot, named Michael Bradley who brought his pilot ID to the airport flew the EasyJet flight from Manchester, UK, to Alicante, Spain, when he heard the pilot originally set to fly the plane was late.
Videos posted to Facebook showed Bradley being met with wild applause after telling passengers that EasyJet had just cleared him to pilot the flight.
EasyJet confirmed the news to Business Insider and said: “This is fully in line with regulations as he had his license and ID with him. Safety is always our highest priority.”
Bradley joked with passengers over the intercom about his casual attire, saying: “So if you’re all right for one of your pilots to look like this today, we’ll go to Alicante.”
“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,” an EasyJet spokeswoman told Business Insider.
“This meant customers could get to their destination and shows the commitment and dedication of our crew.”
