Airline cabin crew felt ‘held to ransom’ by man, court hears

AN Aer Lingus pilot considered diverting a flight when a retired financial service executive started complaining about seating and made a member of the cabin crew feel “held to ransom”, a court heard.

Leo Larkin, aged 61, of Killteragh Road, Foxrock, Dublin, was fined €500 after he admitted engaging in behaviour likely to cause serious offence or annoyance on the aircraft after being requested by a crew member to stop, on April 3 last year. The state withdrew a summons for engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour with intent to cause a breach of the peace during the flight.

Garda Siobhán Murphy told Judge Bryan Smyth at Dublin District Court yesterday that she took a report from staff member Emer O’Shea following a four-hour flight carrying 200 passengers from Las Palmas to Dublin.