An abusive plane passenger has been ordered to pay £1,400 by a court after threatening cabin staff during a flight into Birmingham - because they had run out of Halal meals.
Convicted drug dealer Ibrar Zada, 25, verbally abused two crew members as he returned on a Thomson flight from Hurghada International Airport in Egypt.
He was found guilty after a trial at Birmingham Magistrates Court of using ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words’ towards members of the crew, in breach of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.
Zada, from Small Heath, was arrested by waiting police when the plane landed at Birmingham International Airport on March 28.
He was ordered pay £150 compensation to the two injured parties, fined £480 and told to pay £620 court costs.
The court heard he had become abusive when he discovered the plane had run out of Halal food.
Zada had boarded the 757 plane from Egypt on March 27.
Shortly into the flight, the cabin crew ran out of hot food but continued to serve the passengers with meals left in the kitchen.
But when a staff member approached Zada he demanded Halal food, which the crew did not have. They apologised and offered an alternative, which he declined.
Later on, the defendant used the attention button to call cabin crew to him. He again demanded Halal food and then started to use foul and abusive language towards the staff.
Zada was asked repeatedly to calm down and warned failure to do so might result in arrest. But he continued to shout abuse and show aggression.
When the aircraft landed in the early hours of March 28, the police boarded the plane and Zada was arrested and later charged.
“It is important that air travellers understand that this type of behaviour on passenger flight will not be tolerated.
Liz Rider, Senior Crown Prosecutor from West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The irresponsible actions of Ibrar Zada not only distressed the cabin crew but his language and his aggressive manner was also upsetting for his fellow passengers.
“Having been told on a number of occasions that the aircraft did not have any Halal food, Zada resorted to using foul and abusive language towards the cabin crew.
“He was warned a number of times to calm down, but he failed to comply and as a consequence he was arrested when the aircraft landed at the airport and he has today been convicted of his actions.
“It is important that air travellers understand that this type of behaviour on passenger flight will not be tolerated. Those who commit such offences by abusing or threatening crew members will be robustly prosecuted.”
In July 2012, Zada was sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
He was among a ten-strong drugs gang jailed for nearly 30 years as part of West Midlands Police’s Operation No Deal.
At the time, Detective Chief Inspector Nick Walton, from Birmingham East Police, said: “Drugs destroy communities and contribute to all manner of other criminal activities, so removing those responsible for supplying them is essential if were to keep our communities safe and hold offenders to account.”
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