Drunk plane passenger jailed for racist rant
Northumbria PoliceA drunk passenger who launched a "vile" racist rant on a plane, including giving a Nazi salute and proclaiming England would "rise again", has been jailed for 10 months.
David Kelly, 56, shouted threats and racist and homophobic abuse at staff and passengers during his tirade on a Jet2 flight from Antalya in Turkey to Newcastle in December, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
A number of passengers, including a family with young children, were moved away from him, and he refused instructions to sit down so the plane could land, the court heard.
Kelly, from Durham, whose previous criminality included drug offences and arson, admitted being drunk on an aircraft and racially aggravated public disorder.
Kelly was noted to have been "loud and boisterous" with "lots of laughter" during the first couple of hours of the flight on 19 December, prosecutor Saba Shan said.
But his behaviour deteriorated as he became more drunk, the court heard.
He became "angry and animated as he started ranting", Shan said, as passengers and staff had to "endure" his behaviour in the tight confines of the plane.
'Genuine fear'
On the flight, Kelly asked what had "happened to our country", the court heard, before he said: "We owned one-third of the world for hundreds of years. Look at us now, I'm ashamed."
He also chanted "hey Tommy Tommy" and said "Hitler knew" while giving a Nazi salute, the court heard.
He called a Turkish passenger a "terrorist" and repeatedly swore at staff while using racist and homophobic slurs when they asked him to calm down.
He then stood on his seat and initially refused to sit back down as the plane prepared to land, Shan said.
The court heard he had four offences on his record including "serious drug offences" and an arson in 2013 for which he was jailed for five years and four months.
In mitigation, the court heard Kelly's "deeply reprehensible and unpleasant" behaviour began after he had a "fundamental disagreement" with his neighbouring passenger about politics.
Recorder David Gordon said Kelly's language was "vile" and he "created genuine fear" for passengers and crew as well as an "inherent safety concern" in the "uniquely confined environment of an aircraft in flight".
