The heartbroken family of Andrew Westlake hope people will become more aware of mental health issues after his tragic death.
Since Andrew’s death in May 2018, his family have been searching for answers about what happened after he was escorted off a Jet2 flight at Dalaman Airport.
The 29-year-old was asked to leave after telling passengers they were being poisoned through the air conditioning and threw away a glass of water, saying it was poisoned.
Staff believed Andrew was drunk - despite not smelling alcohol - but a toxicology report confirmed there was no drink or drugs in his system.
Tragically, three hours later Andrew, of Annfield Plain, jumped over a barrier and fell 10 metres to the ground.
An inquest heard Andrew jumped while suffering a “mental health episode” following the breakdown of his relationship, being abroad with no money or phone, and having been without accommodation for days.
His sister Samantha Gradon, 33, said: “People have to understand and not just assume someone is on drink or drugs, it was clearly a man who needed help.
"I have a little girl and I hope if she ever goes on holiday would never be put in that situation.
“If he hadn’t left that plane, he would have been home.
“I know myself that when someone is suffering from anxiety, small things seem like really big things to them
“You should never judge a book by its cover. You should spend that little bit of time understanding the situation.
“If people had spoken to Andrew that night they might have understood the way he was acting.”
Andrew had been on holiday was his partner and daughter, but was asked to leave the hotel after a series of rows and spent two days waiting for his flight home at the airport - with no money or mobile phone.
After boarding the flight, he was brought off the aircraft at around 12.30am and at around 2am police found him trying to enter a secure military part of the airport.
He was at the information desk and staff offered to help him but minutes later he jumped over a barrier close to the check-in desk at around 3am on May 29.
Andrew was taken to hospital for treatment but died of his injuries that were consistent with a fall.
Coroner James Thompson said he would be writing to the holiday firm and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to ask whether anything could be done to assist people asked to leave a flight who were not disruptive and who may be suffering from a mental health issue.
Samantha, of Stanley, believes Jet2 could have done more to help and airport staff should be given further training to identify if someone is in crisis.
She said: “The thing through this whole process is that we believe Jet2 could have done more.
“We always believed with the right help and support as a family we would not be put in this situation.
“If a policy or procedure was put in place this could prevent future deaths.
“If they had a policy or procedure in place then the coroner would not be writing to them.
“It wasn’t handled well at all. As a family, we will always have to live with this."
After his death, there was mystery around what happened in the airport and Andrew’s family desperately tried to get information about what happened.
His mum, June Westlake, spoke of her heartache about not knowing what happened to her son.
Samantha said: “My mam has not been the same since. We are quite a close family and it has been heartbreaking to see what she has been through.
“I couldn’t put myself in that situation. This will stay with us forever.”
Samantha said her brother was a "happy go lucky person" who would "take every day as it comes".
She added: “I’m not going to say he was a model citizen, he was normal. He had a good friend base and was a doting [dad] on his little girl.
“He has been robbed of that chance to be with her, and robbed of all the stuff.
“We want to raise awareness of mental health as I never want another family to be in this situation, under these circumstances.
“I would hate for it to happen to me, to be stuck in a foreign country with nobody around you.”
A spokesperson said: “We note the Coroner’s comments, and we can assure everyone that the safety and well-being of our customers and colleagues is our number one priority at all times.
"Where we are required to make the difficult decision to disembark a passenger from a flight, our highly trained teams will follow strict systems of communication and procedures, which focus on the safety and welfare of all customers and colleagues, including the individual who is disembarked. Additional assistance and support was also offered to Mr Westlake."
