Man Used Vape, Played Loud Music On Plane, Arrested For Disrupting Fight

A Switzerland-bound Air Canada flight had to be diverted to Newfoundland and Labrador on Sunday, due to an unruly passenger on board.

The Air Canada flight 878 took off for Zurich, Switzerland, from Toronto Pearson International Airport, but after two and a half hours of being in the air, made an emergency landing at the St. John’s International Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador. The reason was a passenger - twenty-nine-year-old Ahmed Khassim, who behaved in an intoxicated and disruptive manner on the flight.

Sarah Henshaw, a passenger who was present on the flight when the incident took place, told CTV News that the disruptive man was sitting three rows ahead of her.

It all started when the man insisted on sitting on the wrong seat throughout the flight. Then, it escalated to him making “weird noises” and demanding to be served alcohol despite being intoxicated. Henshaw added that the man also played loud music to the annoyance of all the other passengers and even started vaping inside the cabin. Air Canada does not allow e-cigarettes on board.

“There were just numerous situations where flight attendants had to deal with this man on board,” Henshaw said. “We were just about to hit the Atlantic Ocean when they decided we had to go 35 minutes south to St. John’s for a stop.”

According to Const. James Cadigan of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, officers were asked to meet the plane upon its landing. The authorities added that Khassim was also disrespectful, toward the flight attendants and the pilot, when he was told to calm down.

After Khassim was deplaned from the flight, the aircraft was fueled and the rest of the 287 passengers continued to their destination, where they reached three hours behind schedule.

Khassim appeared before the court on Monday, where he was charged with one offence under the Aeronautics Act. A second charge, the details of which were not revealed, was on the process of being filed against him. Court documents stated that the accused “engaged in behavior [that] endangered the safety and security of an aircraft in flight or of persons on board by intentionally interfering, with the performance of the duties of crew members.”

He told court that he was on his way to meet his relatives in Kenya – a trip that he had planned a year in advance. He was released on a $5,000 bail and was ordered to be in good behavior until his trial date starts, which is on Feb. 13. He was also banned from leaving Canada, except for his trip to Kenya, the Western Star reported.

If convicted, Khassim could face the maximum punishment of $100,000 fine and five years in jail for each of his charges.

In a similar incident, a flight to Zurich was forced to land in Newfoundland on Jan. 13, 2017, due to an unruly passenger. The 24-year-old man responsible for the incident was charged.