Swalyn Barton-Cootes fronts court over in-flight assault

An intoxicated passenger who was refused alcohol on board caused a flight to be diverted to Melbourne at a cost of more than $37,000, missing his granny’s funeral.

An intoxicated young man who called a flight crew member he assaulted “gay” and “f----t” after he was refused alcohol which forced the plane to divert to Melbourne has been sent to jail.

Swalyn Barton-Cootes had to be restrained on board an Air New Zealand flight from Perth to Auckland as horrified passengers, including his pregnant partner and three other family members, looked on during meal service.

The unemployed 23-year-old from Golden Bay in Perth was sentenced to four months’ jail when he appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

He immediately appealed the sentence and was granted bail. The appeal will be heard in the County Court on July 22.

The Magistrates’ Court heard he was on his way to his grandmother’s funeral in New Zealand which he missed following his arrest at Melbourne Airport just after 2am on October 23, 2024.

Swalyn Jackson Barton-Cookes has appealed against his four-month jail term for assaulting an Air New Zealand crew member aboard a flight from Perth to Auckland.

His family members were allowed to carry on with their journey from Melbourne but the diversion meant about seven other passengesr missed their connecting flights out of Auckland.

The estimated cost of diverting the flight about two hours after leaving Perth to Melbourne Airport was $37,500 which excluded refuelling and other disruptions.

The court heard when meals were being served on board about 9.30pm on October 22, 2022 a crew member noticed Barton-Cootes was drunk and told him he wouldn’t be served any alcohol.

At this, Barton-Cootes became abusive and called the crew member “gay” and a “f----t”. He then raised his voice and could be heard three rows away.

The crew member believed Barton-Cootes was trying to headbutt him when the 23-year-old stood up and put both hands on his shoulders.

The cabin manager gave him a verbal warning before he was taken to the back of the plane and restrained with the help of passengers.

Swalyn Jackson Barton-Cookes missed his grandmother’s funeral in New Zealand after he was arrested in Melbourne for assaulting an Air New Zealand flight crew member.

Between 50 and 60 passengers missed their meal after service was stopped and the plane was diverted to Melbourne where Australian Federal Police arrested the New Zealand citizen on board.

His lawyer Manny Nicolosi advocated for a non-custodial sentence, saying Barton-Cootes was ashamed of his behaviour and let his family down by missing his grandmothers’ funeral that took place three days after his arrest.

Magistrate Andrew Halse said there should be significant consequences for those who behaved in the manner Barton-Cootes did.

“Your client’s violent and disruptive behaviour caused an international flight to be diverted. His behaviour was completely unprovoked by anyone. It was just his inability to contain his own bigotry,” Mr Halse said.

He said the safety of airline passengers and crew should not be threatened by “boorish and belligerent bigots” who should not complain when they were appropriately punished for their unruly behaviour.