Indian Origin Woman Banned from Flying British Airways for 2 years

By Little India Desk | August 21, 2017

According to British media reports, a 30-year-old Indian origin academician who was removed from a plane at Heathrow Airport in UK after she hurled abuse at the flight staff in April, was fined 4500 pounds and banned from flying British Airways for two years.  She admitted to entering the aircraft drunk. The case was heard in Isleworth Crown Court, London.

Meghna Kumar was arrested out of the British Airways aircraft before it took off on April 9.  According to the Mirror, she had downed a lot of vodka and abused flight staff when she was told by the cabin crew that she was sitting on part of her unfastened seat belt.

In a Drunken State

“The defendant was booked on a flight from London Heathrow to Montreal on the evening of April 9, 2017,” Prosecutor James O’Connell was quoted as saying to the court.

The prosecutor went on to say that she was one of the last to board and her drunken state was apparent to the flight attendant. He said: “She sat down and her seat belt was not fitted, she was asked to fit the safety belt and immediately became abusive.”

According to court proceedings, the cabin service director was so alarmed by Kumar’s behavior that in a rare decision, he decided to reverse the plane to the departure gate so she could be kicked out.

A Disgrace

She had fallen asleep as the plane went back to the departure gate and when she was woken up to be booted off the flight 20 minutes later, she thought she had arrived in Canada. This incident delayed other passengers on the flight to Montreal for almost by two hours.

Kumar’s defense, lawyer Gareth Weetman termed this as “an absolutely tragic case” as Kumar is a full time academic who has been battling depression and anxiety for a decade reported PTI. The Judge, however dismissed it, calling her a “disgrace”.

Kumar gets a stipend to tutor undergraduates. She has a teaching