Brit holidaymaker started loo fire on Monarch Airlines flight leaving hundreds stranded in Egypt
Returning holidaymakers were stranded in Sharm-El-Sheikh for 24 hours after John Cox lit the blaze in a toilet bin on the Airbus A321 plane with 201 on board
A PASSENGER started a fire in mid-air on a Monarch Airlines holiday jet to Egypt, a court heard.
Returning holidaymakers were stranded in Sharm-El-Sheikh for 24 hours after John Cox lit the blaze in a toilet bin on the Airbus A321 plane with 201 on board.
Cabin crew extinguished the fire during the flight from Birmingham to the Red Sea resort in August 2015.
But the aircraft had to be taken out of service and a replacement sent to bring holidaymakers home the following day.
Cox, 46, was later heard being verbally abusive to those whose flight was cancelled, .
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Cox, of Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to reckless arson before a trial was due to begin at Birmingham Crown Court.
Judge Mark Wall QC adjourned sentence for psychiatric reports to be prepared but warned Cox it was an offence that almost always ended in a custodial sentence.
Cox was freed on bail, with conditions including a ban from air travel, until his sentencing hearing on March 10.
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