Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Unruly passenger who caused plane to turn around on runway facing jail

Jason Harris shouted and swore at an air hostess, refused to leave the aircraft and assaulted two police officers.

Jason Harris leaving Aberdeen Sheriff Court. Image: DC Thomson
Jason Harris leaving Aberdeen Sheriff Court. Image: DC Thomson

An abusive passenger who forced a plane to turn around on the runway at Aberdeen airport has been warned he could be jailed.

Jason Harris had to be escorted off the British Airways flight and went on to assault two police officers at the departures gate of Aberdeen International Airport.

The dad-of-two’s unruly actions caused a 70-minute delay to the flight – for which the airline was fined £7,000, at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

The offshore worker has now been banned from stepping foot in the terminal – a situation his solicitor said has caused “significant problems” for him.

Forced U-turn on runway

The initial disturbance on the BA1307 flight from Aberdeen to London Heathrow, on January 5 last year, saw Harris refuse to sit down during takeoff and then shout “don’t f****** tell me what to do” when a steward asked him to belt up.

Fiscal depute David Rogers said: “At this time the steward alerted the captain who, out of concern for the safety of the aircraft and its passengers, decided to return to the airport stand. Airport control was notified, who in return contacted airport police.”

Aberdeen International Airport. Image: Paul Glendall/ DC Thomson

When the plane parked up at Gate 5 of the Dyce terminal, two police officers boarded and asked Harris to leave – but he was “aggressive and argumentative” and refused.

“He loudly shouted that he was autistic, suffered from Asperger’s and that his father had recently passed away,” Mr Roger added.

“After negotiations, he agreed to stand and leave the plane however as he made his way he stopped in front of an officer, who tried to guide him forward, only to be told ‘don’t f****** touch me’.

“He was walked towards Gate 5 area in the departures lounge while police returned to the plane to obtain details of the incident.”

Delay cost airline £7,000

He continued to shout and scream at the gate and refused to calm down.

When police did return he tried to barge past them into the main lounge before trying to headbutt one officer and, after a struggle during which he threw himself to the ground, he kicked another in the leg.

Despite becoming “more physically compliant” the shouting and swearing continued in the airport.

British Airways was fined £100 for every minute the flight was delayed – totalling £7,000.

Defence agent Sian Grant confirmed Harris was on the autistic spectrum, had been diagnosed with Asperger’s and had been prescribed diazepam while offshore upon hearing of his father’s terminal cancer diagnosis.

Warned jail could be an option

“He sat in the wrong seat and that’s what unfortunately sparked this incident,” the solicitor added.

“He was banned from the airport after this, which caused significant problems for him. He was not able to work but has now secured employment as a rig supervisor which he starts next month.

“This incident is something he wishes to bring to an end today.”

Sheriff William Summers, however, rejected that plea for a fine, and warned the charges were so serious that a custodial sentence must be considered.

“He has behaved this way before,” the sheriff said. “It’s worse this time because he had done it on a plane and caused enormous inconvenience for those on the plane because it had to return to the stand.

“These offences are so serious I can not proceed to sentencing today. There’s a realistic possibility a custodial sentence will be imposed.”

He called for background reports and deferred sentence of Harris, of Bolney Road, Cowfold, West Sussex, for six weeks.

For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.Â