The 33-year-old Australian faces a hefty fine after his wild behaviour on a flight last September forced the pilot to return to the airport.
The court ordered the passenger to pay $6,055, plus another $5,800 to the airline for the loss of fuel. In total, he will have to pay $11,855, or about NIS 44,000.
The incident occurred on a domestic flight from Perth to Sydney. While the police statement did not reveal the name of the passenger or the airline, Australian media reported that the flight was on Jetstar Airways, the low-cost subsidiary of Qantas, Australia’s national carrier.
Australian media outlet WAtoday reported that the man was drunk or under the influence of drugs, interfered with the crew and at one point locked himself in the bathroom until the plane landed. As a result, the airline was forced to cancel the flight.
“This incident should serve as a warning that criminal behaviour on an aircraft can have serious consequences,” police said in a statement. “It is much easier to follow the crew’s instructions than to create unnecessary problems that could result in serious financial losses.”
The Washington Post notes that the number of unruly passengers has been increasing in recent years, alarming authorities who are taking the problem very seriously. There was one incident for every 568 flights in the US in 2022, compared to one incident for every 835 flights in 2021, according to official data.
The largest fine ever imposed on a passenger was $40,823, CNN reported. This fine was imposed on a man who boarded a Southwest Airlines flight while intoxicated, attempted to smoke marijuana in the plane’s bathroom and sexually assaulted a flight attendant.
There are also incidents in this part of Israel. In July, the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling cancelled a flight from Tel Aviv to the Spanish resort town of Lloret de Mar after two young Israelis were caught smoking in the cabin.
Cursor previously wrote that the German woman broke off relations with the plane after 9 years of romance.
