Passenger’s unruly behavior forced a plane to divert; now he has to pay for fuel

In the latest move to rein in disruptive passengers, a 33 year old Australian man will have to pay a hefty fine after his bad behavior during a flight...

In the latest move to rein in disruptive passengers, a 33-year-old Australian man will have to pay a hefty fine after his bad behavior during a flight forced a plane to dump fuel and return to the airport last year.

Australian Federal Police announced the penalty as well as the man’s guilty plea this week. He was slapped with a fine of about $6,000 by Perth Magistrates Court and told to pay the airline roughly $5,800 for fuel.

Police said in a statement that the incident dates back to September 2023, when the man was flying from Perth to Sydney. His actions - which authorities did not describe - forced the pilots to turn back to Perth. That pushed the pilots to dump fuel before landing and the airline to cancel the flight.

At the time, the passenger was charged with disorderly behavior on an aircraft and failure to comply with safety instruction. He pleaded guilty to both last week.

The agency did not identify the man or the airline, but Australian news outlets have reported since last year that the incident occurred on a Jetstar flight. The low-cost carrier is a subsidiary of Qantas. In a news story, WAtoday reported that the man was accused of being "intoxicated and disruptive” and that he locked himself in a toilet until the plane landed.