A man has been jailed after abusing cabin crew on a 12-hour Oman Air flight from Muscat to Manchester because they refused to serve him alcohol at the request of his father. Mohammed Amin, 33, who has previous convictions for public order offences, hurled racist abuse at female cabin crew and attempted to spit at one flight attendant as he was finally dragged off the plane on arrival in Manchester in August 2019.
He has just been sentenced to 12-months imprisonment following a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court where he was found guilty of interfering with cabin crew and common assault.
Amin was travelling back to Manchester from Pakistan via Oman with his parents when he asked for alcohol from the cabin crew. The crew denied him service, apparently at the request of his Muslim parents who cited ‘heath reasons’.
The court heard how Amin, who was sat in Economy Class, barged into the Business Class cabin where his parents were sat and snatched a drink out of his father’s hand before returning to his original seat.
“For the next 90 minutes he calmed down but then made a further request for vodka resulting in the cabin director Mr Ahmed Al-Rhabi saying if his behaviour continued to be acceptable then he would be served,” prosecutor Zoe Dawson told the court in comments reported by the Daily Mail.
“The defendant then repeatedly moved to and from his seat into the galley to harass crew members into serving him more alcohol, as well as attempting to purchase alcohol through the duty free items being sold onboard,” she continued.
“When the lights in the cabin were dimmed to allow passengers a period of rest, the defendant refused to return to his seat and became visibly more agitated and was raising his voice”
“Crew members began to feel more and more uncomfortable given they were stood with him in a confined space.”
Amin hurled racist abuse at the cabin crew, calling one flight attendant an “African b***h” and another a “Chinese b***h”. Like many airlines in the Persian Gulf, Oman Air employs many expat workers from countries around the world.
At one point, Amin allegedly threatened to “smash” the cabin director’s head in and when his mother tried to calm him down, he shouted at her: “Go back b***h”.
Eventually, the crew decided to restrain Amin but with only one member of male cabin crew onboard the aircraft, the crew had to call on the assistance of three male passengers to help subdue Amin. The restraints had to be reapplied three times and even after tieing him down, Amin continued to kick out and hit his head against the side of cabin wall.
One passenger told the court that said she had never been so scared for her safety or the safety of her children.
In mitigation, Amin’s defence lawyer said he was angry because his parents “want to impose on him what they consider for a good Muslim boy”.
“It was maybe misplaced anger that he felt at being controlled and decided when he could drink and how he could drink”.
Judge Mr Recordser Paul Taylor, however, told Amin there was “no excuse” for taking his anger out on others as he was sent to prison.
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