A Belfast teenager who screamed abuse and “lunged” at cabin crew after being refused alcohol has been ordered to complete 150 hours of community service.
Imposing the community service order (CSO) as a “direct alternative” to sending Hugh Doran to jail, District Judge Nigel Broderick told the 19-year-old he was lucky he had not actually struck the easyJet employee.
“I would have no hesitation in giving you a custodial sentence,” he said.
Doran, from Riverview Meadows in Belfast, entered guilty pleas to offences of common assault and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner to the cabin crew member.
A prosecuting lawyer told Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, today that on July 28, last year, Doran was on a flight from London Stansted to Belfast International Airport and “became disruptive… swearing and being abusive” to airline staff.
The court was told that when the victim told Doran he would not be served any alcohol he “lunged at her over another passenger, putting her in fear” of being struck.
Defence solicitor Mark Austin said his client accepted that his behaviour was not acceptable “and he is apologetic for that,” adding that while the teenager is not alcohol dependant “when he consumes alcohol he finds himself acting in a deplorable manner.”
The legal representative told the judge that Doran “will take whatever order of the court” to keep himself out of jail.
Judge Broderick warned the teenager that “I take a very dim view” of incidents on a plane given that “it’s a very confined space” and said an additional factor was that he assaulted and screamed abuse at cabin crew “whose job is to look after you and they do not need to be confronted by an angry and abusive passenger.”
Doran was also ordered to pay a £300 fine and was warned by the judge that failure to comply with the CSO would see him brought back to court and resentenced.