UAE

Drunk passenger who threatened to blow up FlyDubai plane jailed for six months

A 68-year-old man, who threatened to blow up a FlyDubai flight after he was denied alcohol and stopped from moving to business class, has been jailed.

Thaer Zriqat

May 24, 2015

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DUBAI // A man who threatened to blow up a FlyDubai flight when he was denied alcohol and stopped from moving to business class has been jailed for six months.

M A, 68, from Bahrain, claimed he possessed a bomb and would detonate it on the flight from Bahrain to Dubai.

He was charged with assaulting a flight attendant by screaming at her and pushing her when she refused to let him into the business class section.

Prosecutors also charged him with breaching the modesty of the female flight attendant by making an obscene gesture to her by shaking his body in a motion that implied he wanted to have sex with her.

He was also charged with possessing and consuming alcohol.

M A previously denied all charges, claiming he had taken medication before boarding the plane which caused him to not remember what had happened.

The Moroccan flight attendant S H, 24, said that 15 minutes after take-off, the defendant asked her for an alcoholic drink.

“He had one in his hand, which he brought with him from the airport’s duty free and he seemed very much drunk so I did not serve him more alcohol,” said S H.

He then started screaming loudly and causing a disturbance, she said.

“Some crew members tried to calm him down, especially as he had scared the other passengers. He did not care for the crew members’ efforts and started even threatening that he possessed a gun and explosives and would use them,” said S H.

She said that after making the threat he tried to move to the business class section but she stopped him so he pushed her hard before heading to the back of the plane.

“He was still demanding to be served alcoholic drinks then he said he possessed some and would like to reach for them but we wouldn’t let him. When we landed, he grabbed a bag he had with him on board of the plane and when he opened it. It turned out to be full of liquor. He opened one and drank it before leaving the plane,” said S H.

At Dubai Criminal Court on Sunday the defendant was sentenced to six months in jail.

He will be deported after completing his sentence.

tzriqat@thenational.ae

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