Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Emirates' 'worst ever passenger' gets jail sentence

An airline passenger who drunkenly abused cabin crew on board an Emirates flight from Dubai to Birmingham has been jailed for 11 months by a British court, said a report.

Branded the 'worst passenger ever’, 46-year-old Jasbir Singh Bharaj, was found guilty of criminal damage, racially aggravated words and behaviour and common assault, the Daily Mail UK reported.

Birmingham Crown Court heard how the Leicester native drunk vodka mixed with wine on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Birmingham on September 16 last year. He then threatened to punch an air hostess in the face, damaged an entertainment console, made sexually explicit gestures to a female member of staff and attacked and abused police officers when the plane landed in the UK, the report said.

Judge Burbridge QC, giving his sentence, told Bharaj: ‘People need to know that if you get drunk on an aeroplane, upset other passengers and cause cabin crew to have a difficult job then custodial sentences apply. You have many previous convictions and it seems you will not learn your lesson.'

Satvir Aujla, Bharaj’s defence attorney, said: 'Mr Bharaj is suffering from considerable ill health. He is ashamed and remorseful for his actions.