Other airline passengers have committed lewd acts

NEIL PRENDEVILLE is not the first airline passenger to commit a lewd act on board an aircraft — and probably will not be the last. Another well-known Irishman, jockey Timmy Murphy, was handed a six-month jail sentence after an alcohol-fuelled incident on a plane.

Murphy was jailed for 91 days in England after being found guilty of indecently assaulting an air stewardess on a flight from Tokyo to Heathrow in April 2002.

After that, he chose the path of the wayward celebrity — sobriety, rehab and the inevitable tell-all book. He made his way back to the top of his career and added a triumph when he won the Aintree Grand National in 2008.

While airlines are reluctant to discuss security protocols, they take a dim view of any behaviour that tends to interfere with the smooth running of a flight.

In a statement, British Airways said: “All incidents of disruptive behaviour onboard our aircraft are taken extremely seriously and will not be tolerated.”

Ryanair’s response was similar. “Ryanair passengers must follow cabin crew instruction at all times. Based on the cabin crews’ assessment of a situation they may request police assistance on arrival at their destination,” said a spokesperson.

American authorities take particular exception to passenger misbehaviour. In March, Murali Nookella, a computer programmer, 34, exposed himself to a woman sitting next to him and masturbated underneath a blanket while flying from Philadelphia to Denver on a Southwest airlines flight.

In May, he pleaded guilty to indecent exposure on board an aircraft, an offence under US federal law, and faces up to 90 days in jail and a $5,000 (€3,550) fine.

Two years earlier, on an American Airlines flight when a female passenger woke up during a flight to find a man masturbating in the seat next to her.

Centava Dozier, 23, filed a $200,000 lawsuit against the airline. She was sitting in an empty row when the plane took off, and then fell asleep.

She slept most of the flight, but awoke about 20 minutes before landing when the pilot announced the plane was on descent into Los Angeles. When she opened her eyes, she saw that an unknown man had moved into the seat next to her and was staring at her as he masturbated. She also discovered that he ejaculated in her hair.

Dozier claimed that when she asked the flight attendants for help, and requested the man be removed and taken back to his assigned seat, the staff did nothing. The man was arrested when the plane landed.