Yahoo Finance 'Extremely disruptive' woman cops $151k fine for triggering flight diversion
An angry woman, who allegedly tried to open aircraft doors mid flight and break into the cockpit, has copped a £85,000 – or AU $151,000 – bill for “extremely disruptive behaviour”.
Chloe Haines, a 25-year old woman from England’s Berkshire, caused her flight to Turkey to be diverted back to London Stansted Airport after a “catalogue of aggressive, abusive and dangerous behaviour” which raised a hijack alert.
According to airline Jet2, Haines had to be restrained by both staff and passengers for what Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy said was “one of the most serious cases of disruptive passenger behaviour that we have experienced”.
The UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets had to intercept and escort the aircraft back to London Stansted.
In their rush, the fighter jets created a “sonic boom” that could be heard for miles, shook residents’ homes and sparked nearly a thousand calls to police, Essex Police said as reported in BBC.
In fact, the sonic boom caused such a ruckus that four compensation claims have been filed against the RAF for broken windows and household glass items, a damaged greenhouse, a broken ceiling lights, and for a cracked car windscreen, The Sun reports.
Once the flight arrived back at London Stansted, airport police arrested Haines on suspicion of assault and endangering an aircraft.
The airline is hot on her tails to cough up for the fine, Heapy indicated.
“She must now face up to the consequences of her actions, and we will vigorously pursue to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this divert, as we do with all disruptive passengers,” he said.
“As a family friendly airline, we take an absolutely zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour, and we hope that this sobering incident, with its very serious consequences, provides a stark warning to others who think that they can behave in this fashion.”
According to BBC, the woman has been released on bail until 21 August.
Yahoo Finance has contacted Qantas, Virgin, Tiger Air and Jetstar airlines for comment.
Qantas has declined to comment.
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