Ryanair welcomed the conviction an unruly passenger who disrupted a holiday flight last year.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court convicted a man whose behaviour led to the pilot turning around an Edinburgh to Lanzarote flight last summer.
Shortly after take-off the man began smoking, consuming his own alcohol, and verbally abusing other passengers onboard, the airline said.
He was one of three disruptive passengers on the flight.
It caused ‘unnecessary disruption’ for the flight carrying 178 passengers.
The Edinburgh Sheriff Court issued the passenger with a Community Payback Order and sentenced him to 225 hours of community service.
Ryanair affirmed its strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and vowed to continue taking action against unruly passenger behaviour on aircraft.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “We welcome the Community Payback Order which demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy.”
“We hope this action will further deter disruptive behaviour on flights.”
