Passenger ordered to pay more than $5,000 in fuel costs after flight diverted due to bad behavior

Lilit Marcus, CNN

(CNN) — A problematic hose rider has been deed pinch an different shape of reward – he has to salary backmost nan hose for nan costs of fuel.

According to nan Australian Federal Police, a then-32-year-old man from Western Australia was disruptive connected a formation headed from Perth to Sydney. As a result, nan level had to move astir and spell backmost to Perth, which meant that nan aviator was forced to dump immoderate substance to land.

Now, nan rider has been ordered to salary $8,630 AUD ($5,806 USD) backmost to nan hose to screen nan costs of nan wasted fuel. The Perth Magistrate Court besides fined him $6,055, meaning that his mid-air misbehavior has a full value tag of $11,861 – apt galore times higher than immoderate he spent connected nan ticket.

“This incident should service arsenic a informing that criminal behaviour connected committee tin travel astatine a dense costs to nan offender,” Shona Davis, nan AFP’s Acting Superintendent, said successful a statement.

“It’s acold simpler to obey nan directions of hose unit than origin unnecessary issues, which tin extremity up hitting you successful nan hep pocket.”

Although nan formation happened connected September 25, 2023, it has taken astir a twelvemonth for nan lawsuit against nan unruly rider to activity its measurement done nan Australian ineligible system.

Neither nan man nor nan hose was publically named, nor was it specified precisely what he did to gain specified a hefty penalty.

The rider pleaded blameworthy to 1 count of disorderly behaviour connected an craft and 1 count of nonaccomplishment to comply pinch information instructions.

While charging a disruptive traveler for nan costs of substance is not a emblematic penalty, different kinds of fines are much common.

In 2021, nan US Federal Aviation Administration announced that they would beryllium introducing a zero-tolerance argumentation for fliers behaving severely connected planes.

That year, passengers were issued fines for a scope of incidents connected planes crossed nan United States, including 1 rider who attempted to participate nan plane’s cockpit and had to beryllium restrained and different who punched a formation attendant successful nan face, sending them to nan hospital. The astir superior cases of in-flight mischief are besides reported to nan Department of Justice.

The azygous highest individual penalty, $40,823, was issued to a traveler who brought their ain intoxicant connected board, was intoxicated, attempted to fume marijuana successful nan lavatory, and sexually assaulted a formation attendant – each successful a azygous flight.