Woman jailed for drunken rage on holiday jet

A woman who caused a holiday jet to divert after she went into an alcohol-fuelled fit of rage was jailed for four months yesterday.

Charlotte Davies, 31, a care worker from Sunderland, became abusive to her boyfriend and fellow passengers during the flight last November from Newcastle to Tenerife after drinking pints of lager in the airport bar followed by rum on the aircraft.

Newcastle Crown Court was told that the pilot decided for the safety of 200 passengers and crew to divert to Faro airport in Portugal at a cost to the airline of more than £2,500.

The court was told that, shortly after boarding the 8am flight, Davies and her boyfriend, a psychiatric nurse, were moved to the back of the plane by crew concerned at her shouting. John Aitken, for the prosecution, said: "She was not served any [alcohol] on the aeroplane. But given the amount she had available to her it was not necessary."

She became rude and aggressive towards her boyfriend and eventually other passengers complained about her behaviour. She began kicking the seat of the passenger in front of her and refused requests by cabin crew to stop swearing and keep the noise down. Mr Aitken said: "At that time, in the middle of November, it was still quite a sensitive time for air passengers after the events of September 11. Everyone, including the defendant was nervous about flying at that time."

Davies, a divorcee, said she had drunk only to calm her fear of flying but admitted being drunk on an aircraft and offered to pay back the cost of making the diversion.

Judge Michael Taylor told Davies he had no alternative but to jail her. He said: "Early on that morning you started drinking, you took more and carried on consuming it. Your behaviour became loud-mouthed and abusive and you ignored requests to stop. This sort of behaviour causes fear and terror now on aircraft."

Her conviction was welcomed by the pilots' union and the charter airline JMC, which said it sent out a timely reminder. A JMC spokesman said: "We welcome the sentence passed and the clear message it conveys to the small minority of passengers whose disruptive behaviour can threaten the operational safety of an aircraft and be a cause of distress to other passengers." JMC said it would not pursue the cost of the diversion.

A spokesman for the British Airline Pilots' Association said the prison sentence sent out the "right signals", adding: "All too often in the past sentencing has taken the form of a slap on the wrist and a punitive fine. With the busy season upon us the last thing passengers or we want is increasing numbers of disruptive passengers. We hope this sentence will make potential troublemakers think twice."