A woman has been jailed for two years for being so disruptive on a flight to Turkey that it had to be escorted back to Stansted Airport by RAF jets.

Chloe Haines, 26, yelled ‘I’m going to kill you all’ as she tried to open the emergency door of her Jet2 plane midway through the flight on June 22, 2019.

Passengers and cabin crew fought to restrain her as two Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to bring the plane back into the London airport.

Jet2 accused her of a ‘catalogue of aggressive, abusive and dangerous behaviour’ on the flight bound for Dalaman.

A former bouncer who tackled her to the ground previously revealed how she kicked, punched and screamed at the stewards during the dramatic landing.

He said: ‘She was only petite but she had the strength of a fully-grown man. The only time I’ve seen anything like that was when someone had just dropped acid, she had super strength.’

Jet2 cabin crew member Charley Coombe suffered scratches as she tried to prevent Haines from opening the plane door, the court heard.

Haines, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, admitted at an earlier hearing endangering the safety of an aircraft and the assault on Ms Coombe.

The RAF aircrafts caused a sonic boom as they flew to meet the plane before she was arrested by Essex Police upon landing.

She later said that she ‘blacked out and didn’t really remember what happened’ after mixing alcohol with medication, prosecutor Michael Crimp told Chelmsford Crown Court.

Sentencing Haines today, judge Charles Gratwicke said: ‘Those that are trapped in the confined space of the aircraft will inevitably be distressed, frightened and petrified by the actions of those who in a drunken state endanger their lives.

‘For some it will be their worst nightmare come true.’

Haines, dressed in a white shirt and black top, with her blonde hair in a ponytail, sobbed through much of the hearing.

Jet2 calculated that the incident cost them £86,000, the court heard.

In a statement after her arrest, the company said the bill was handed to Haines alongside a lifetime ban.

Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: ‘Miss Haines’ behaviour was one of the most serious cases of disruptive passenger behaviour that we have experienced.

‘She must now face up to the consequences of her actions, and we will vigorously pursue to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this divert, as we do with all disruptive passengers.

‘As a family friendly airline, we take an absolutely zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour, and we hope that this sobering incident, with its very serious consequences, provides a stark warning to others who think that they can behave in this fashion.’

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Zoe Drewett

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