Airline takes unruly passenger to court

There has been a recent plague of drunk, buffoonish, sometimes violent, behaviour on commercial aircraft.

Often the miscreants get a slap on the wrist, or a good behaviour bond.

In Europe, however, low-cost carrier Ryanair has had enough of the idiocy of buttheads.

Ryanair is taking action against a passenger it says forced a pilot to divert a flight.

It has started legal proceedings against the passenger it claims disrupted a Dublin to Lanzarote flight, which had to be diverted to Portugal, news hub Travel Mole reports.

Ryanair is seeking €15,000 (around $25,000 in Aussie money) in compensation to cover the cost of diverting the flight. The passenger has not been named. 

It filed the lawsuit in Dublin’s circuit court claiming "inexcusable and completely unacceptable" behaviour.

The damages it seeks are for overnight accommodation and related expenses given to passengers due to the diversion to Porto.

Ryanair said it will continue to take "decisive action" against other unruly behaviour.

The incident led to 160 passengers "facing unnecessary disruption and lost a full day of their holiday".

“It is unacceptable that passengers - many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday - are suffering unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time,” a Ryanair spokesperson said.

Bravo Ryanair.

Passenger from hell guilty of attacking flight attendant

Colin Smith from Hull is not the sort of fellow you want sitting next to you on a plane. Or anywhere near you.

The unruly Smith this week pleaded guilty to attacking a flight attendant on an easyJet flight from Manchester to Malta.

Smith told the court he was drunk after consuming over 3/4 of a bottle of duty free whisky.

He stood up in his seat when the seatbelt sign was on, and when approached by a female steward he lunged at her, grabbing her neck with both hands, the court was told.

In court, Smith "expressed remorse" for his behaviour.

The case was reported in the Manchester Evening News.

There is a real issue here for anyone who flies.

What should you do if you sat next to the likes of Smith, or someone like him drunkenly falls on you?

The court heard the flight attendant pushed him away in an effort to defend herself. He then lost his balance and fell on a row of passengers, who helped to restrain him.

The following week, Smith was arrested after his returning flight and admitted to the assault and being intoxicated on an aircraft.

Barrister Colette Renton, who defended Smith, said his memory of the incident was “fragmented” from being drunk at the time.

She said that his fear of flying is what led him to drink in excess.

Smith could face up to two years in jail when sentenced in the new year. But maybe people guilty of this type of offence should simply be banned from ever flying again.