Unruly Passenger To Pay Over $5,000 in Fuel Costs After Forcing His Flight to Divert

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) reported that the then-32-year-old man from Western Australia caused a disturbance aboard a flight traveling from Perth to Sydney. He became such a problem that the pilot was forced to divert the plane back to Perth, which required dumping some fuel to land safely.

As a result, the Perth Magistrate Court ruled that the passenger must pay $8,630 AUD (approximately $5,786 USD) to cover the cost of the lost fuel. Additionally, he was fined $6,055 AUD (4,059 USD) by the court, bringing the total financial penalty to $14,685 AUD ($9,845 USD). That is one expensive trip to nowhere.

The man pled guilty to charges of disorderly conduct aboard an aircraft and failure to comply with safety instructions.

“This incident should serve as a warning that criminal behavior on board can come at a heavy cost to the offender,” Shona Davis, the AFP’s Acting Superintendent, said in a statement obtained by CNN. “It’s far simpler to obey the directions of airline staff than cause unnecessary issues, which can end up hitting you in the hip pocket.”

Though the flight took place on September 25, 2023, it took nearly a year for the case to be resolved in court. The names of the passenger and the airline involved have not been released, and the specific details of the man’s behavior also have not been disclosed.

While forcing a disorderly passenger to repay fuel costs may be out of the ordinary, fines and penalties for bad behavior aboard flights have become more frequent in recent years.

In 2021, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced a zero-tolerance policy for unruly behavior on planes. That year, amid the pandemic, there was a sharp increase in the number of airline customers being disobedient and even aggressive on board their flights.

U.S. passengers were hit with heavy fines for all sorts of bizarre behavior, including one who attempted to breach the cockpit and ultimately had to be restrained, another who punched a flight attendant in the face so badly that they had to go to the hospital. The worst transgressions are sent to the Department of Justice for resolution.

The highest individual penalty for $40,823 was issued to a passenger who committed multiple offenses during a single flight, including drunkenness and bringing their own alcohol on board, trying to smoke marijuana in the lavatory and sexually assaulting a flight attendant.