A British man headed to his honeymoon on a Cuba-bound flight instead found himself grounded in Bermuda after drunkenly threatening the flight crew, with his wife continuing on to Cuba without him, authorities in Bermuda said on Tuesday.
Mohammed Khelya, from Blackburn, Lancashire, had been drinking duty-free vodka before quarreling with his wife on Monday when he was taken in handcuffs to the rear of the aircraft and forced its unscheduled landing, prosecutors said.
Appearing on Tuesday at a court in Hamilton, Bermuda’s capital, a contrite Khelya pleaded guilty to being drunk on the plane and to threatening flight staff.
“I don’t know how I’m going to forgive myself,” he said in court, adding: “I don’t know how she’s going to forgive me,” referring to his wife.
Khelya, 22, and his wife were among 311 passengers on board a Thomas Cook flight that set out from Manchester.
Several hours into the flight, his wife changed seats to get away from him and Khelya then appealed unsuccessfully to a crew member to see her.
“I’m going to kill you and I’m going to kill everyone after,” prosecutors cited Khelya as telling a crew member, using an expletive.
As flight attendants moved a handcuffed Khelya to the back of the plane, he spat at other passengers, compelling crew members to use blankets to protect them, prosecutors said.
Diverted to the LF Wade International Airport, the flight was greeted by police officers, who escorted Khelya off the plane.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo fined Khelya US$2,000 for being drunk on the aircraft and another US$1,000 for his abusive behavior toward the flight staff. He must pay or face four months in a Bermuda jail.
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