Traveler ordered to pay more than $5,000 in fuel costs after flight diverted due to bad behavior | CNN
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A problematic airline passenger has been hit with an unusual form of punishment – he has to pay back the airline for the cost of fuel.

According to the Australian Federal Police, a then-32-year-old man from Western Australia was disruptive on a flight headed from Perth to Sydney. As a result, the plane had to turn around and go back to Perth, which meant that the pilot was forced to dump some fuel to land.

Now, the passenger has been ordered to pay $8,630 AUD ($5,806 USD) back to the airline to cover the cost of the wasted fuel. The Perth Magistrate Court also fined him $6,055, meaning that his mid-air misbehavior has a total price tag of $11,861 – likely many times higher than whatever h

  • thanks_shakey_snake
    10·
    4 days ago

    Neither the man nor the airline was publicly named, nor was it specified exactly what he did to earn such a hefty penalty.

    Why the hell not? I feel like it’s weird for this information to not be public in a case like this-- In this same article, there are three examples of other incidents where the details are known.

    Phrases like the passenger “was disruptive,” and “It’s far simpler to obey the directions of airline staff than cause unnecessary issues, which can end up hitting you in the hip pocket” seem weirdly euphemistic to me.