A husband and wife, arrested after the aircraft on which they were travelling was forced to divert to Shannon airport on Tuesday, appeared in court in Co Clare yesterday.
Volodymyr Litovkin from Ukraine, a 42-year old-sailor, was sentenced to one month in prison and fined a total of €700 at Miltown Malbay District Court after he pleaded guilty to three charges arising from an incident on board a Martinair flight from Amsterdam to Cuba. The accused's wife, Iryna Litovkin (39) also from Ukraine, a dental nurse, was given a one month suspended sentence after she pleaded guilty to similar charges.
However, when Mr Litovkin returned to court later to lodge a cash recognisance in case he decided later to appeal the conviction, Judge Joseph Mangan suspended the one month sentence after hearing representations from the accused's solicitor.
The couple were arrested after the flight was forced to make an unscheduled stop. The court was told they drank alcohol on board which they had purchased in a duty free shop.
When the cabin crew tried to confiscate the bottle of whiskey and campari which the couple were drinking they refused to hand the bottles over.
Solicitor for the accused, Caitriona Carmody, said Mr Litovkin handed over his bottle while Mrs Litovkin "gestured to cabin crew that she would close the bottle and not drink from it again". The court heard that the couple went to the rear of the aircraft and refused to return to their seats. During an exchange with cabin crew, a glass of wine was spilled while Mr Litovkin was accused of throwing a coffee pot.
The court also heard evidence that passengers assisted cabin staff to overpower the couple who were then handcuffed. While evidence was being heard, both defendants stood before the court crying. Each was charged with three offences under the Air Navigation and Transport Act.
The pilot of a transatlantic jet told Miltown Malbay court that he diverted his plane to Shannon airport when half way across the Atlantic because a passenger was "giving off signals" which raised concerns with passengers and crew. Khalid Mahmoud Butt (39), a Pakistani Muslim living in Canada, appeared before the court on two charges arising from the incident on board a Thomas Cook flight from Manchester to Toronto on Tuesday night. The accused was charged with engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour and with refusing to obey instructions from cabin crew.
Cabin manager Michelle Chadwick told the court Mr Butt had been aggressive, which the accused denied.
Ms Chadwick also said Mr Butt was "praying out loud for quite a while" and passengers had raised concerns about his behaviour.Evidence was given that the accused had "demanded" to speak to the captain.
Capt Andrew Henshaw said his security training dictated that he should not leave the flight deck if there was a perceived threat.
"We have been told that future attacks could be based on being drawn out of the cockpit."
The accused was convicted of the second charge and fined €50 but that was reduced to €10 after the court heard that it was the only cash he had.