‘Abusive’ man told off for vaping in plane toilets then tried to snatch juice

A labourer has been slapped with a five-month prison sentence for his “abusive and violent behaviour” towards cabin crew after being told off for vaping in the airplane toilets.

Omar Edwards’ shameful attitude on a flight from Jamaica to London Gatwick on November 12, 2022, reportedly caused upset and panic among other passengers. The east London resident, 26, was tried and found guilty of behaving in a threatening, abusive, insulting, and disorderly manner towards cabin personnel, an unlawful act, according to the Air Navigation Order 2016. He was also charged with assault.

Besides serving time behind bars, Crawley Magistrates also ordered him to pay £2,400 in compensation to the distressed victims onboard, a £500 fine and £675 in court fees. A spokesperson from Sussex Police said: “Edwards was first to board the aircraft, and was seen grabbing items from seats in an area of the aircraft he was not travelling in. He was challenged twice about this.”

They added: “Then he was spoken to by a cabin crew member after he was suspected of vaping in the toilet on board. It is illegal to use vapes as the batteries cause a risk of fire inside the aircraft. Edwards had previously been warned about vaping on board the outbound flight from London Gatwick.”

The spokesman said: “After being challenged, he became abusive and swore at cabin crew workers. He demanded a drink and was told to sit down, and a drink would be taken to him. But instead he snatched a carton of juice and tried to walk away. During the incident he then assaulted a cabin crew worker.”

Detective Constable Graham Gray, from Gatwick CID, added: “All abuse of cabin crew is unacceptable, it should not be seen as just a part of their job. Edwards’ behaviour was so poor that despite being given numerous warnings, he continued to ignore cabin crew. Indeed his behaviour was so poor that he was given an official written warning by the captain on board. This case demonstrates that abuse of airline workers is not acceptable and we will pursue offenders to ensure they are prosecuted.”

Last night, a plane from Manchester was forced to divert due to an ‘unruly passenger’, leading to police storming the aircraft. The SunExpress flight, heading for Dalaman in Turkey, took off just before 7.30pm but had to change course when a passenger became disruptive.

The decision was made by the cabin crew to divert over 700 miles away to Belgrade in Serbia. Local police removed the ‘unruly passenger’ after landing around 10.30pm. The plane then resumed its journey to Dalaman. FlightRadar24 shows the aircraft’s diversion near Sarajevo and its circling pattern before finally landing.

A spokesperson for SunExpress stated: “Our flight XQ505, which was scheduled from Manchester to Dalaman on 9th April, had to divert to Belgrade due to an unruly passenger.”