The proceeds of an unclaimed €10,000 scratch card are to be donated to charity after the winner ate the card.
The unnamed man was flying with Ryanair from Krakow in Poland to East Midlands Airport in Britain when he won €10,000 with the scratch card.
Fellow passengers watched, aghast, as he ate it after being told he could not claim the cash immediately.
Crew on board the flight confirmed he had won the prize but told him he would have to collect the jackpot directly from the company that runs the competition as it was such a large sum.
Members of the public can choose the recipient by voting for one of five charities on the airline's website. The bodies in line to benefit are an anger management charity, an eating disorder charity, a gamblers' charity, a disruptive children’s charity or a mental health charity .
“Passengers have always been delighted to claim their large cash prizes after returning home," Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said. "Unfortunately our latest winner felt that we should have his €10,000 prize kicking around on the aircraft.”
Voting will take place until March 5th.