A 19 year old drunk man who brought terror to a Birmingham-bound flight with his abusive and aggressive behaviour is facing jail. A court was told that Rahees Iqbal’s drunk antics on an Emirates flight caused fear to both passengers and crew. The 19-year-old, who was allegedly drunk on vodka and miniature bottles of Baileys, shouted abuse during much of the flight and had to be handcuffed by police when the flight landed at Birmingham.
John Dove, prosecuting, said the incident took place on April 23 on a flight which left Dubai at 16.10. Iqbal's irritable behaviour allegedly involved fowl and threatening words, aggressive rants and resisting arrests. Mohammed Fiaz, defending, reportedly said Iqbal, who had previously trained to be a plumber, was coming back from a five week holiday in Pakistan. Iqbal has pleaded guilty at Birmingham Magistrates Court. He added: “He was suffering from a migraine, was taking tablets and was dehydrated. He is not normally used to alcohol.
“He is a social drinker. He wants to apologise to all the people involved.”
District Judge Ian Strongman adjourned the case until May 29 for reports to be prepared. But he said that even after a guilty plea sentencing guidelines indicated a six month sentence.
