A drunk passenger who spilled alcohol on a child and caused a flight to be suspended has been locked up.
James Rae caused havoc on a TUI plane heading from Glasgow to Antalya on May 24 when he called a member of staff a “gay guy” and shouted abuse at others on board.
Their behavior became so bad that the decision was made to divert the flight to Newcastle, which meant passengers faced a delay of more than five hours to finally reach their destination in Turkey.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that tourists hoping to catch the same plane home from Antalya also suffered a 17-hour delay and the cost to the flight operator was “several hundred thousand pounds”.
Rae, who had been drinking gin and Jagermeister, was arrested as soon as he landed and had to be taken away because he was so drunk.
The plant operator, 29, of West Bridge Street, Falkirk, Scotland, pleaded guilty to being drunk on an airplane.
Judge Stephen Earl today sentenced Rae to eight months in prison, telling him: “The one thing that stands out in this case is deterrence, not only to deter you, but also to ensure that other people understand that if you get on a plane and you’re drunk, this is the kind of sentence you can expect.
James Rae (pictured) wreaked havoc on a TUI plane heading from Glasgow to Antalya on May 24 when he called a member of staff a “gay boy” and shouted abuse at others on board.
Judge Stephen Earl today sentenced Rae to eight months in prison, telling him: “The one thing that stands out in this case is deterrence, not only to deter you, but also to ensure that other people understand that if you get on ‘A plane and you’re drunk, this is the kind of sentence you can expect’
Judge Earl said passengers and staff on board the “metal cylinder in the sky” were at almost incalculable risk.
The judge added that some may find it “strange” that alcohol is sold at the airport and on flights, adding: “It depends on whether people are adults, they don’t feel like 15 pints for four people, but that’s what some people do.” .
‘Of course, a lot of people don’t do that, a lot of people treat it as a responsible, adult situation.
“Just because it’s available doesn’t mean it’s mandatory to drink as much as you can before the flight.”
Prosecutor Antonia Adie told the court that a crew worker had noticed Rae and her partner acting “loud and cheerful” as they boarded the flight, but initially thought nothing was wrong.
However, Miss Adie said: “After the plane was boarded and subsequently took off, some passengers who were very close to the couple began to complain about their language.
‘At this point the colleague walked away from him and was visibly upset by his actions.
“Cabin crew were preparing the bar for service when a passenger entered who had noticed the defendant drinking his own duty-free spirits.”
The cabin manager was informed and Rae was asked to hand over the drink which would be returned to him after landing.
He was then asked to move to another seat, but he refused to hand over his passport and began speaking more aggressively to the staff.
He was also verbally warned that his behavior was becoming increasingly unacceptable.
Miss Adie told the court that Rae then called a flight attendant a “gay boy” and said the only reason staff made fun of him was because he was straight.
She said: ‘For some time afterwards the defendant did not understand why he was not allowed to drink his own alcohol.
“The flight attendant realized the situation was not improving and the captain made the decision to divert the Newcastle as the defendant was drinking and unable to follow legal instructions.”
Rae then returned to her normal seat, but her behavior declined further.
He began hitting his head on the seat in front of him, forcing another passenger to intervene.
“The defendant also had a small plastic bottle containing some alcohol and he ended up spilling it on a girl sitting opposite him,” Miss Adie said.
‘This led to an argument with the children’s parents and the accused.
“The flight landed in Newcastle at around five to seven in the afternoon.”
Officers were called to arrest Rae and he had to be taken away due to his intoxication.
The flight was delayed a total of five hours and 23 minutes, according to the court.
The fact that the plane was grounded at Newcastle meant that replacement cabin crew had to be called in to work and the scheduled return flight was delayed by 17 hours to allow the new staff to have the minimum required rest period.
Fiona Lamb, defending, told the court that Rae had never been in trouble before, adding: “He is absolutely convinced that he has not had a drink since this incident.”
Miss Lamb said that on the day of the flight Rae was “quite nervous about flying” and had only eaten chicken nachos before take-off.
Miss Lamb said Rae’s memory of what happened on the flight is “extremely limited” and that he is not homophobic.
The court heard Rae said in his own words: “It was horrible and disgraceful and I am absolutely ashamed, I have no idea where it came from.”
“I’ve ruined my life for something I can’t even remember, it’s horrible.”
Rae added that she wanted to apologize to the airline staff member if she ever got the chance.