Indian tourist Vikrum Dwarakanath fined $5000 after spitting on floor, yelling during Bangalore to Sydney flight
A skydiving enthusiast’s mid-air antics on an international flight to Sydney have resulted in a Qantas flight being diverted to the Northern Territory. See why the 47-year-old has been placed on a ‘no fly list’.
Police & Courts
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A skydiving enthusiast has been forced to apologise after his mid-flight antics on an international trip to Sydney resulted in him being cuffed to his seat at the back of the plane.
Indian tourist Vikrum Dwarakanath appeared before Darwin Local Court on Wednesday after his drunken behaviour caused a Qantas flight from Bangalore to Sydney to be grounded in Darwin on Tuesday morning.
Dwarakanath did not get any legal advice before pleading guilty to committing offensive or disorderly behaviour on an aircraft resulting in the endangerment of the safety of an aircraft.
The 46-year-old told Chief Judge Elisabeth Morris that he had planned to go skydiving on his 10-day trip to Australia, but he overindulged in booze ahead of his 11 and a half-hour flight.
Dwarakanath said he was drinking before he got on the plane, and then was given a further “two small servings of wine” during the flight.
Ms Morris said around 1.30am, Dwarakanath started getting “loud and shouting”, ignoring the cabin crews’ directions to calm down.
When staff said the captain would be informed, Dwarakanath spat on the ground and towards other passengers — although no one was hit.
Ms Morris said Dwarakanath had a mask put on him, but he continued to scream, yell and “ disrupt the operations of the flight”.
Ms Morris said the Indian man was then restrained by his wrists and moved to the back of the plane.
Four and a half hours after the initial outburst, the plane was diverted to Darwin so Dwarakanath could be booted off the flight by Australian Federal Police.
While a total financial consequence of the flight chaos was not provided, Ms Morris said she presumed there was a “large” cost due to airport fees and delays to flights, as well as the inconvenience, discomfort and annoyance to his fellow passengers. .
In his defence, Dwarakanath simply said: “I had alcohol and I made a serious mistake … I lost control of myself”.
While currently unemployed, Dwarakanath said he was living off his savings of around $100,000 after working as an IT specialist.
The 46-year-old said he was planning on being in Australia for 10 days, but would now have to buy a new ticket home after being put on Qantas’s ‘no fly list’.
The Commonwealth prosecutor said while it was on the lower scale of this type of offending — with no direct threats or attempts to ‘bring down the plane’ — it was still a serious offence with a maximum penalty of $16,500.
“Especially as people on board that plane are not able to escape the defendant's offensive and disorderly conduct,” she said.
Ms Morris convicted and fined Dwarakanath $5000 with an additional $150 victims levy.