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Judge JAILS Passenger for 8 Months After Homophobic Outburst on Flight

Posted by on Mar 21, 2012 in Crime | 9 comments

We’ve all had the displeasure of overhearing a stranger’s homophobic comments at one point in our lives, but how many instances end in a pilot turning his flight right back around so the hater can be arrested and jailed?

John Hawkins, who was with his children on the Thomas Cook flight, flew into an abusive rage while his young daughter sobbed.

The 32-year-old lost his temper when a man in a nearby seat on the flight from Tenerife, told him to mind his language.

He became aggressive, and shouted insults – directing gay jibes at male cabin crew.

He eventually had to be restrained. The pilot felt he had no alternative but to return to Tenerife, at a cost of £12,500 to the airline.

Jailing him for eight months, Judge Jonathan Geake told him: “Your behaviour was grotesque, and completely outrageous.

“Your treatment of fellow passengers and the way you hurled offensive homophobic comments at cabin crew, and generally ranted, was inexcusable.”

The type of free speech that gets so often abused here in the states is not quite a right across the pond. Homophobic attacks, whether physical or verbal, are illegal under the law in the UK.

Y’all remember the British woman who ended up in jail after this ugly racist tantrum was caught on video, right?

Let’s hope he learned his lesson! He’s got eight months to think good and hard about where he went wrong.

How’s that for a timeout?