Published on: 11/28/2015IST

'Worst ever' air rage passenger jailed for drunken rampage

User Image Anuj Tiwari Last updated on: 11/28/2015, Permalink

An air rage passenger branded one of the worst ever has been jailed after drunkenly abusing cabin crew on a flight from Dubai to Birmingham. 

Jasbir Singh Bharaj, 46, was labelled by a flight attendant as the "worst passenger he had ever encountered" after he went on a rampage which included:

  • Threatening to punch a stewardess and biting a police officer;
  • Causing £2,500 damage to the in-flight entertainment system;
  • Swearing and embarking on a series of racist rants;
  • Dipping his finger in wine and rubbing it onto his private parts.

Bharaj was sentenced to a total of 11 months at Birmingham Crown Court for his actions aboard the Emirates plane on September 16 last year.

The court heard that Bharaj, of Leicester, had threatened to punch an air hostess in the face and damaged an entertainment console. 

He also made sexually explicit gestures to a female member of staff and called police officers "white w*****s."

Judge Burbridge QC, giving his sentence, told Bharaj: "On the Emirates flight you drank vodka mixed with wine and then proceeded to abuse cabin staff.

"You demanded more alcohol and swore repeatedly even though there were four young children behind you who had to listen to your tirade.

"You told a female member of cabin crew that if she were on the ground you would punch her in the face. And in a particularly grotesque piece of behaviour you dipped your fingers in your glass of wine and rubbed them on your private parts.

"The air hostess felt abused and disgusted after seeing you touch yourself in such a sexually explicit way.

"You shouted 'f*****g Muslims - send them back to where they came from' and 'f*****g ISIS'.

"When you landed you were abusive to police and bit PC Ingram on the arm.

"People need to know that if you get drunk on an airplane, upset other passengers and cause cabin crew to have a difficult job then custodial sentences apply.

"You have many previous convictions and it seems you will not learn your lesson."

One member of staff said unemployed Bharaj, who arrived at court on crutches, was the "worst passenger he had ever encountered."

He was found guilty of drunkenness on an aircraft, criminal damage, racially aggravated words and behaviour and common assault.

William Dudley, prosecuting, said: "On a flight from Dubai to Birmingham, having travelled from Thailand to see his estranged wife, Bharaj became extremely aggressive, calling an air hostess a 'f*****g bitch.'

"He also caused an estimated damage of £2,643 to Emirate airlines equipment.

"The captain arranged for police to meet the flight airside and they boarded the plane before any of the passengers could leave. Once the police arrived, he continued to be verbally aggressive.

"He referred to police as 'white w*****s' and 'white b******s' and in the police car he bit PC Ingram on the arm.

Satvir Aujla, defending, said: "Mr Bharaj is suffering from considerable ill health and is due to have a hip replacement on Wednesday.

"He is ashamed and remorseful for his actions."

Eight strange cases of air rage

Noodle rage

Apparently unhappy with her seating arrangements, a Chinese passenger berated a crew member before throwing hot noodles at her on an Air Asia flight between Bangkok and Nanjing last year.

Nut rage

The daughter of a Korean Air exec caused a stir last year after she demanded that an air steward be removed from a plane for offering her nuts without a plate.

Knee rage

Reclining seat etiquette became a hot topic recently, due to a string of rows caused by a simple but devious device - the Knee Defender. The innocuous-looking lumps of plastic can be used by air passengers to preserve leg space preventing the seat in front from reclining. Its use led the diversion of a United Airlines flight last August. Then, a week later, an American Airlines flight was diverted after another row.

Pyjama rage

The little extras are what you pay for in first class - but there is a point when you can get too hung up on your entitlements. Two Qantas passengers, in August 2012, decided they would rather miss their flight than suffer the indignity of business class pyjamas. Expecting to be able to snuggle up in first-class nightwear, the A380 had in fact run out of XL-sized clothes. The pair were offered business-class PJs in the right size but refused them and disembarked, causing a 30-minute delay.

Wine rage

Gerard Depardieu, the actor, apologised in 2011 for urinating into a bottle - and the floor - during a flight. The Frenchman was caught short on a flight to Dublin, and could not go to the toilet as the seatbelt sign was on. He tried to relieve himself as discreetly as possible, but Dublin-based City Jet said the plane was grounded for two hours while staff cleaned the carpet.

Naked rage

Staff on the runway at Manchester Airport were treated to a shocking sight in October 2013, when a passenger decided to completely disrobe on the tarmac. The 52-year-old allegedly challenging the captain to a fight and urinating against a wall before taking his clothes off. Police said he was dry tasered and arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.

Toddler rage

Two-year-olds can be hard to placate at the best of times. But one temper tantrum was so great that her whole family ended up being removed from a JetBlue flight to Boston in March 2012. The parents of the girl had been unable to get her to put her seatbelt on and so they were told to leave for safety reasons.

Barking rage

A Russian artist pleaded guilty to assault after a bout of air rage that ended with her punching and kicking flight attendants while barking like a dog. She also, according to court documents, attempted to bite attendants who were trying to restrain her on a United Airlines flight in 2009.


11/28/2015 | | Permalink