A “verbally and physically abusive” passenger aboard a United Airlines flight has been ordered to pay the airliner more than $20,000 after his behavior prompted the pilot to divert the Newark-bound plane to Maine.
A federal court ordered 30-year-old Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald to pay $20,638 in restitution to United Airlines for his behavior towards the crew and passengers.
Mr. MacDonald, a UK national of Hackney, London, pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members.
The incident began around 8:30 a.m. EST on March 1, when Mr. MacDonald began arguing loudly with his girlfriend. According to a United Airlines spokesperson, the pair appeared intoxicated.
The head flight attendant approached Mr. MacDonald and asked that he lower his voice for the comfort of other passengers. He initially complied, but only for a few minutes. According to an FBI affidavit, he then began yelling at another flight attendant.
The head flight attendant intervened and positioned himself between the “verbally and physically aggressive” passenger and the other crew member while he attempted to calm the angry Brit down.
Mr. MacDonald then flew into a rage, asking the head flight attendant if he would like to have “have a problem,” further threatening to “mess up the plane” as he grabbed the head flight attendant by the shoulders and backed him into a corner, the affidavit states.
A passenger helped the crew put the aggressive passenger in flex cuffs and placed him in the crew rest area on the plane. However, Mr. MacDonald’s tantrum continued, and he refused to stay put in his seat as he continued yelling, while crew members and two passengers attempted to restrain him.
At this point, the pilot and the head flight attendant agreed that it was best to interrupt the flight “for the safety of the crew.” According to the affidavit, the captain assessed that “continuing the flight to Newark was too great of a risk.”
The plane, with 160 passengers and ten crew members on board, then touched down in Bangor, Maine, at 9:56 a.m. Friday, instead of landing in Newark as scheduled.
Uniformed officers were cheered on by the passengers as Mr. MacDonald was lifted out of his seat and dragged off the plane, cuffed by his ankles and wrists.
The FAA has been issuing hefty fines for unruly behavior on flights since the number of incidents reached a staggering peak of 6,000 reported cases in 2021 after COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted.
Since then, the FAA has issued more than $8 million worth of fines, with fines going up to $37,000 per policy violation—not per person.
Incidents with unruly passengers have dropped since then but remains much more common than before the pandemic.
In addition to the fines, unruly passengers may also face additional criminal charges.
With all charges combined, Mr. MacDonald was facing a maximum sentence of more than 20 years in prison for interference with a flight crew and an assault charge but was instead sentenced to time served—he has been in custody since the day of his outburst—and will be sent back to the UK by U.S. immigration officers.