Passenger ordered to pay more than US$5,000 in fuel costs after flight diverted due to bad behaviour
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A problematic airline passenger has been hit with an unusual form of punishment – he has to pay back the airline for the cost of fuel.
A problematic airline passenger has been hit with an unusual form of punishment – he has to pay back the airline for the cost of fuel.
According to the Australian Federal Police, a then-32-year-old man from Western Australia was disruptive on a flight headed from Perth to Sydney. As a result, the plane had to turn around and go back to Perth, which meant that the pilot was forced to dump some fuel to land.
Now, the passenger has been ordered to pay $8,630 AUD ($5,806 USD) back to the airline to cover the cost of the wasted fuel. The Perth Magistrate Court also fined him $6,055, meaning that his mid-air misbehaviour has a total price tag of AU$11,861 – likely many times higher than whatever he spent on the ticket.
“This incident should serve as a warning that criminal behavior on board can come at a heavy cost to the offender,” Shona Davis, the AFP’s Acting Superintendent, said in a statement.
“It’s far simpler to obey the directions of airline staff than cause unnecessary issues, which can end up hitting you in the hip pocket.”
Although the flight happened on September 25, 2023, it has taken about a year for the case against the unruly passenger to work its way through the Australian legal system.
Neither the man nor the airline was publicly named, nor was it specified exactly what he did to earn such a hefty penalty.
