A Co Clare man faces two weeks in jail after pleading guilty at Ennis District Court to an air rage offence on board an Aer Lingus New York-Shannon flight last Monday. The accused man, Matthew Chambers (47), was also fined £600 by Judge Joe Mangan.
Chambers pleaded guilty to engaging in insulting behaviour with intent to cause a breach of the peace on board the flight.
Judge Mangan adjourned the case to January 4th next to enable garda∅ to check whether Chambers, a native of Cree who is now living in New York, had previous convictions in the US.
Mr Joe Chambers, defending solicitor, said that his client should not have been allowed to board the flight, as he was inebriated at the time. When on board, he should not have been served more alcohol.
The solicitor told the court: "He co-operated with garda∅, he pleaded guilty to the offence, he did not assault anyone. He travelled to Shannon on Wednesday to apologise to the Aer Lingus crew members. He had too much to drink and cannot explain his actions and is full of remorse."
Insp Michael Gallagher said that Matthew Chambers verbally abused crew members, using obscene language while persistently looking for more alcohol. He conceded that Chambers had never left his seat while he was being abusive.