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Back in March, I wrote about a pair of intoxicated passengers on a United Airlines flight between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). One of them has now been ordered to pay over $20,000 in restitution for his drunken on board shenanigans.
MAINE: Flight UA 883 from London to Newark made an emergency landing at Bangor Airport in Maine this morning, and a violent passenger was removed. The flight was full of Yidden, who will iyh land in Newark in time for shabbos. pic.twitter.com/5tDzRySW0u
— KolHaolam (@KolHaolam) March 1, 2024
The March 1st flight was forced to divert to Bangor International Airport (BGR). As the Boeing 767-300ER entered US airspace, a pair of passengers argued with one named, Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald, being especially disruptive. It’s unknown what the passengers were arguing about, but it caused a significant enough disturbance for the crew to trigger a Level 3 emergency. This level indicates life-threatening behavior such as the display of a weapon or a threat of a bomb according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The US Department of Justice described the incident as follows:
While the flight was in U.S. airspace, MacDonald began arguing with his traveling companion and causing a disturbance. When flight attendants asked MacDonald to be quiet and attempted to calm him, he became belligerent, threatening, and intimidating towards them. When the international purser aboard the flight intervened, MacDonald became belligerent and intimidating toward him as well and stated that he would ‘mess up the plane.’ When MacDonald’s conduct continued, he was restrained in flex cuffs, and the flight was diverted to Bangor.”
MacDonald was arrested and jailed after the incident. He pleaded guilty on March 22nd to interfering with a flight crew and has to pay United $20,638. No additional jail time was given other than the time served. The fine is to cover the costs associated with the additional fuel, labor, and rebooking the other passengers.
Anthony’s Take: I’m glad this unruly passenger is being hit with such a big fee. More passengers need to be fined for their poor behavior on aircraft both domestic and internationally.
(Featured Image Credit: Emiel Molenaar.)
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