The man was charged with acting in an offensive or disorderly manner affecting safety
A 53-year-old passenger aboard an Air New Zealand flight has been fined and charged for urinating into a cup during a delay in deplaning. The incident took place on an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Sydney Airport on December 30 last year, Stuff reported.
The incident only came to public attention, when a passenger in the same row said she had reported the behaviour to the aircrew. Notably, a woman named Holly and her 15-year-old daughter were sitting in the aisle and middle seats when the man in the window seat, whose name has not been released, was urinating in a cup.
''We heard him do it [urinate]. There was no mistaking what the sound was and I just looked straight at my daughter and my daughter looked straight at me. It was very obvious what was happening. So yeah he pulled his naked p***s out next to us at least three times. That makes my skin crawl,'' Holly said.
The passenger said that the plane had been on the tarmac for approximately 20 minutes while waiting for a terminal gate to be allocated when she heard the man relieve himself in a cup.
''And because I guess we had moved he then got up after us and was carrying another full cup. I guess he intended to pour it out in the toilet. Then as he was walking, he was quite drunk by this point, and he spilled a good amount of his urine onto the flight attendant at the end of the plane as well, because he tripped. So then he went into the toilet, we had told them obviously what had happened, or what we thought had happened, and then it was kind of solidified by the fact that he had this cup of urine and had spilt half of that on her,'' she added.
Holly said the plane was then further delayed to wait for the Australian Federal Police to arrive. An Australian Federal Police (AFP) spokesperson told 1News that officers removed the passenger from the plane for his disruptive conduct.
Australian Federal Police told Stuff Travel the man was charged with acting in an offensive or disorderly manner affecting safety. A Sydney court also fined the man 600 Australian dollars ($395) for the offensive behaviour.
Air New Zealand said it bans between five and 10 customers monthly for disruptive behaviour, including intoxication.