Air-rage man jailed after Nazi salute and assault on EasyJet captain

Jailing 51-year-old Paul Anthony Burgoyne at Antrim Magistrates Court, District Judge Nigel Broderick said incidents of passengers under the influence of drink or drugs being abusive to air crews was “becoming all too prevalent” and that despite an “eloquent” plea in mitigation, “I feel that this case does merit a custodial sentence.”

Judge Broderick also fined Burgoyne £500 and ordered him to pay £600 to the plane’s captain, declaring that the sentence “should serve as a warning to anyone else who engages in similar behaviour”.

At an earlier hearing Burgoyne, originally from NI but now living at Temple Close, Shepshed in Loughborough, pleaded to nine offences arising from the incident in 11 February this year including four counts of common assault, including the captain of the flight, damaging the captain’s £600 wrist watch, using disorderly behaviour at Belfast International Airport, behaving in an abusive, insulting or threatening manner towards cabin crew and recklessly endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Opening the facts for the first time on Tuesday, a prosecuting lawyer told he court Burgoyne was on an EasyJet flight to Birmingham when he was asked to raise the window blind for take off.

Burgoyne however became aggressive and “made a Nazi salute saying ‘alright Mein Fuhrer’,” said the lawyer adding that the captain came down and deemed Burgoyne as “unfit to be on board”.

Burgoyne continued to be aggressive, shouting and swearing at the captain and crew who both felt that Burgoyne was “going to punch” them.

“He tried to grab the captain by the throat but got him by the collar instead and broke his watch which was worth £600,” the lawyer told the court.

Once ejected from the aircraft, Burgoyne kicked the tug vehicle which was still attached to the plane and managed to get inside it, grabbing the steering wheel and a joy stick.

Removed from that vehicle, Burgoyne “squared up to another member of staff,” still shouting and swearing before he was eventually arrested by police.

Defence counsel Neil Moore said it was clear from the reports that “alcohol, other illicit substances and fractious and toxic family relationships” lead to the incident which he described as “an explosion of anger.”

He conceded that “obviously, his behaviour on that plane is disgraceful” but submitted that unlike many other cases where planes, crew and passengers were endangered mid-air, such as passengers trying to open doors, “this happened on the tarmac”.

Burgoyne, Mr Moore argued, “is a decent member of society who holds down a decent job” having left NI “to build a new life,” adding that he has expressed remorse and regret for what happened.

“Whilst there has to be an element of deterrence, when you look at the case law this case is distinct and exceptional, fortunately for Mr Burgoyne, because it happened on the tarmac and not in the air,” submitted Mr Moore.

Jailing Burgoyne, Judge Broderick agreed that “there must be an element of deterrence” but continued that despite Mr Moore’s eloquent plea, his view was that the offences called for an immediate jail sentence.

While Burgoyne was initially taken to the cells, he was freed on bail pending an appeal of the sentence around an hour later.