Ralph Lauren’s niece to face alleged air rage charges

A niece of fashion icon Ralph Lauren will appear in Killaloe court today charged in relation to an alleged air rage incident after a flight from Barcelona to New York was diverted to Shannon.

Jewellery designer Jenny Lauren, aged 41, was charged at Shannon Garda Station in relation to the incident yesterday.

The captain of the Delta Air Lines flight, with 209 passengers and crew on board, diverted to Shannon at 1.05pm as a result of the incident.

Ms Lauren was arrested by gardaí after touching down at the airport at 1.47pm.

Ms Lauren, from New York, was brought for questioning to Shannon Garda Station where she also met with a representative of the US embassy in Ireland.

Gardaí also took six witness statements, from the captain and five crew members as part of the investigation into the incident.

Gardaí last night laid three separate charges against Ms Lauren. She spent last night in custody.

The Delta Airlines flight sat on the tarmac for more than two hours at Shannon and continued its journey to JFK Airport at 4.15pm.

Ms Lauren operates a jewellery business, Jenny Lauren Jewellery, in the US.

A New York Times profile on Ms Lauren in 2012 reported prices starting at $350 (€255) for a pair of earrings, up to $5,000 for a necklace.

Ms Lauren’s 2004 memoir, Homesick: A Memoir of Family, Food and Finding Hope, recounted her battle with an eating disorder in her teens and 20s.

Last year, Forbes magazine gave her famous uncle, 74- year old Ralph Lauren, a net worth of $7.7bn as a result of his worldwide clothing empire. The Bronx native started off his business in the 1960s selling neckties in Manhattan.

In 2013, the Ralph Lauren corporation reported revenues of $6.9bn in what Mr Lauren described as “record sales and profit levels”.