A 30-year-old British man who allegedly became physically aggressive towards the crew of a plane who had just asked him to tone it down in the middle of a chicanery with his girlfriend will have to repay more than US$20,000 to the company after forcing the plane to pose urgently.
“He became belligerent, threatening and intimidating towards them. When the international purser on the plane intervened, MacDonald (…) declared that he would “cause a disturbance on the plane,” the Maine District Attorney’s Office reported on April 25. press release, reported by the “New York Post”.
Last week, British passenger Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald was fined a hefty US$20,638 for causing a disturbance on March 1 during United Airlines Flight 883 between London, England, and Newark, England. New Jersey, according to the release.
That day, the man visibly angry with his flight partner allegedly dragged the chicane into the plane, forcing the flight attendants to intervene and ask him to tone it down.
Except that after having complied with the request for a few minutes, the thirty-year-old then got angry with an employee, before directing his frustration towards the head flight attendant who came to intervene between the “verbally and physically aggressive” passenger, allegedly recounted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in its affidavit.
The Briton then allegedly asked the flight attendant if he would like to “have a problem”, threatening him and pushing him into a corner of the plane, before being overpowered by other flight attendants and a passenger on the plane. using flexible handcuffs, the “NY Post” continued.
Unable to keep him in a seat, the staff apparently made the decision to land at the first opportunity, in Bangor, Maine, where the thirty-year-old and his partner were expelled from the aircraft and welcomed by the American authorities.
In addition to the compensation that he will have to pay to the airline for his trouble, the man also received a prison sentence corresponding to his time in detention while awaiting his sentence, he who had been detained since his arrest on March 1 .
According to data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), reports of unruly passengers would have broken the ceiling after health restrictions were lifted in 2021, with nearly 6,000 incidents reported that year, according to the NYP.
Since then, the data would have come closer to normal, but would remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic reports, with 2,075 incidents last year, and already 649 in 2024, concluded the “NY Post”.
