A Greek court handed a 42-year-old British man a three-month suspended prison sentence Monday after his drunken conduct aboard a TUI flight bound for Crete forced the pilot to divert and land in Thessaloniki overnight.
The Thessaloniki Single-Member Court of Appeals found the man guilty of disobeying the captain's orders and disturbing the peace during the flight from Newcastle to Heraklion. The sentence was suspended for three years.
The man admitted to the charges in court, telling the judge he had been heavily intoxicated, and apologized for his behavior.
His conduct forced the flight's captain to divert the aircraft, landing at Thessaloniki's airport at around 1:30 a.m. Airport police arrested the man immediately after the plane touched down. The flight later resumed its journey to Heraklion once the situation was resolved.