Off-duty pilot, Michael Bradley, has been praised by his fellow passengers and easyJet after he stood in to fly a delayed plane from Manchester to Alicante.

Michael, who works for easyJet himself, had been waiting at Manchester Airport for the flight when he learned that the original captain had not turned up.

Thinking ahead, he had packed his licence and ID, just in case and when he found out about the delay, he made a call to see if his services were needed.

As passengers waited on the tarmac, Michael stood up and announced that he had offered to step in and fly them all to Alicante in order to avoid a further delay.

Recalling the incident over the public address system, he said: “So I phoned up easyJet and said: Hiya, I’m standing in the terminal doing nothing… and I’d very much like to go on holiday – and if you need a favour, I’m standing here ready to go.”

The easyJet representative phoned back 38 seconds later with their official request: “Please, please, pretty please with a big cherry on top, could you fly the airplane to Alicante.”

In a statement, easyJet said it was “grateful” to Mr Bradley for volunteering, adding: “This is fully in line with regulations as he had his licence and ID with him. Safety is always our highest priority.”

“[Mr Bradley] was well rested, having previously had four days off and was legally permitted to fly the aircraft.

“Clearly, this is exceptional, but shows the commitment and dedication of our crew wanting to go the extra mile.”