A plane passenger who squared up to a flight attendant and unleashed a torrent of abuse after being refused a coffee has escaped jail.
Iranian national Akbar Aghgaleh, 61, erupted in rage aboard an Air Canada flight from Montreal to Heathrow, confronting cabin crew member Kaitlin Knights-Fullum with his ‘fists clenched in a fighting stance’.
He bellowed: ‘I need my f***ing coffee. Get me the f***ing supervisor.. Oh you’re the f***ing supervisor.’
After being told to calm down, the 61-year-old yelled back: ‘I am f***ing calm. I am f***ing calm. If we aren’t landing in five minutes, I am going to sue your f***ing ass.’
The outburst unfolded as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was descending into London on 29 August last year, as he and his wife returned from a sightseeing trip in the Niagara Falls.
Aghgaleh of Chiswick, west London, did not attend his trial and was convicted in his absence at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court of racially aggravated harassment, using threatening or abusive words towards crew while in an aircraft and using threatening or abusive words
Adeal Mahmood, prosecuting, earlier said: ‘Kaitlin Knights-Fullum asked the defendant to calm down and to put his seat belt on, but the defendant refused.
‘He stood up straight with his fists clenched with his chest out and appeared to be in a fighting stance.
Iranian national Akbar Aghgaleh, 61, erupted in rage aboard an Air Canada flight from Montreal to Heathrow
Police attended and escorted the defendant off the flight while other passengers were on board
‘Her colleague, Vincent Leveille, felt that the defendant may have tried to attack Kaitlin.
‘Police attended and escorted the defendant off the flight while other passengers were on board.’
In bodycam arrest footage played in court, Aghgaleh yells: ‘Gypsy Canada. Gypsy Canada. Gypsy Canadians,’ as he points his phone at passengers while escorted from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
When a police officer tells him to stop ‘mouthing off’, Aghgaleh shouts: ‘What do you want. I am British like you are.’
He then claps his hands and squares up to the officer.
Ms Knights-Fullum said the flight attendants had stopped serving as the flight was about to land in the capital.
She said: ‘I offered him a glass of water, but he got very irate. After that I apologised again and said I could not get him his coffee, and then he became more and more aggressive, then he took out his cell phone and started filming me.
‘He got very aggressive and irate. He stood up in his seat in a fighting stance and shouted: ‘You’re the f***ing supervisor.
‘I felt scared. Shocked. I was taken aback by his response. I was horrified that he was going to hit me or someone else. His voice was very loud.
‘I noticed other passengers looking and being ready to step in case he did get more aggressive. A male passenger was next to me ready to intervene just in case.’
Police officer Paul Scoines, who arrested Aghgaleh, told the court: ‘I just focused on getting him safely off the plane to protect everybody else.
‘He was making references to the nationality of the cabin crew. He was consistently referring to them as Gypsy Canadians.’
The outburst unfolded as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was descending into London on 29 August last year
Aghgaleh, who represented himself assisted by a Farsi interpreter, told an earlier hearing: ‘During the flight I asked five times for a coffee to take my medication. Then my wife even mentioned that it’s my medication.
‘In the nine-hour flight I didn’t have anything to drink or eat.’
He came to the UK from Tehran 37 years ago and was returning from Canada with his wife after a sightseeing trip taking in the Niagara Falls, the court heard.
In addition to the racially aggravated harassment and threatening behaviour, Aghgaleh was also convicted of failing to obey the lawful commands of a pilot.
He also admitted failing to appear in court for his trial.
Magistrate Judy Gregg decided the matter would be dealt with by way of a financial penalty.
She told Aghgaleh: ‘Altogether the fines come to £483, costs have been asked of £650, that is for the trial that went ahead that you did not turn up for, there is a surcharge of £193.
‘So the amount you owe the court is £1,326, that is owed to the court now, but if you would like to make a suggestion regarding payment in instalments, we would like to listen to it.
‘If you miss a payment, you lose the opportunity to pay in instalments and the whole lot becomes due.’
Aghgaleh will pay his fine in monthly instalments of £100.
