It’s nice to see passengers held accountable for their poor behavior onboard when they get drunk and make a scene. One British man has been ordered to pay United Airlines over $20,000 in restitution for his drunk and disorderly conduct onboard.
British Man Must Pay United Airlines $20,000 Restitution For Poor Onboard Behavior, Diversion
On March 1, 2024 a United Airlines flight from Newark (EWR) to London (LHR) diverted to Bangor, Maine (BGR). The US Department of Justice describes what went down with 30-year-old Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald:
While the flight was in U.S. airspace, MacDonald began arguing with his traveling companion and causing a disturbance. When flight attendants asked MacDonald to be quiet and attempted to calm him, he became belligerent, threatening, and intimidating towards them. When the international purser aboard the flight intervened, MacDonald became belligerent and intimidating toward him as well and stated that he would “mess up the plane.” When MacDonald’s conduct continued, he was restrained in flex cuffs, and the flight was diverted to Bangor.
MacDonald, who lives in Chelmsford, England, was arrested and jailed. On March 22, 2024 he pleaded guilty to interfering with a flight crew and was ordered to pay United $20,638.00. No additional jail time was given beyond the time served.
It is always good to see passengers held accountable, especially when their poor choices onboard prompt a costly diversion. It seems to me that $20,638 may make United whole for the additional fuel, labor, and rebooking costs, but I would have liked to see a punitive award as well.
Finally, I cannot help but make a cultural observation here. The DOJ press release is titled, “British National to Reimburse United Airlines $20,638 for Interfering with Flight Crew on Flight Diverted to Bangor.” MacDonald’s nationality figures prominently in the details of the case.
Can you imagine if this was a Chinese or Indian or Nigerian national? We’d have all sorts of comments about “what difference does it make what nationality he was?!” or charges of bigotry. What that does tell you about our current culture, if anything?
image: Grzesiek Kieca/Facebook // Hat Tip: PYOK
LOL I don’t think you know all the meanings of “buggered”
Yeah, this writer most definitely doesn’t know any of the definitions of that word.
I never heard of anyone becoming belligerent and because they were exhausted. Puts a whole new spin on “punchy” huh? Maybe the author meant snockered? Maybe a autocorrect issue? Definitley a proofreading issue.
Not a fan of such PR games played by US DOJ.
A situation ought to be handled in a uniform manner regardless of disruptive passenger’s nationality. Also, it’s not like there has been any shortage of American nationals also misbehaving on flights — although I have found the more belligerent passengers on my US-arriving and US-departing international TATL flights seem to be less likely to be natural-born Americans or natural-born Canadians than to seem to be from other places.
I wonder if passengers are granted an exception to the rule that customs clearance must be done at the first US airport, Bangor in this case so that customs clearance is done at the United hub.
The flight had originated from EWR!
Bangor used to have transatlantic service– like in the mid 1980s. I don’t know when it stopped, but I flew through Bangor to/from the UK a few times.
They did passport control/immigration there too. My family was detained there once due to a problem with my sister’s paperwork– it wasn’t a big deal, but as a kid I was afraid that we were all going to jail. In reality I think we had to pay around $100 and agree to get my sister her own US passport.
In those days, kids could travel on their parent’s passport– there was a page with blank lines on it where you wrote in the names of your children who were traveling with you. It seems very silly these days, but back then, that’s how it worked.
I think you may be misusing the word ‘buggered’. In British parlance it means something I don’t think you mean to say.
Agreed Ziggy. Although I’d be belligerent if I was buggered on an airplane; seems a reasonable response.
Although United has made feel as if I had been more than once
Yes, it’s an airplane, not a cottage.
The word is used correctly, albeit as a metaphor.
That’s exactly what I thought! I reckoned I was going to read about a passenger trying to bugger another (unwilling) passenger…
A Brit speaks! “Buggered” has plenty of uses in English – tired and damned (as in “I’m buggered if I know”) are two which immediately come to mind.
Well I changed it to knackered – I always thought it meant tired/drunk, but I’ve been schooled! 😉
Otto from a Fish called Wanda said it best….
Otto : Oh, you English are *so* superior, aren’t you? Well, would you like to know what you’d be without us, the good ol’ U.S. of A. to protect you? I’ll tell you. The smallest f***** province in the Russian Empire, that’s what! So don’t call me stupid, lady. Just thank me.
As a yank who works for the a British (ironically based in Chelmsford) the interplay between the cultures cracks me up.
Not only does the author not understand the meaning of buggered he obviously has never had to fly with a bunch of drunk Brits on holiday. Not to mention that’s just the warmup to their famously apalling collective behaviour upon reaching Tenerife or the Algarve.
Punitive damages mostly go to the government
attorney fees cannot be deducted from the award, meaning you are taxed on the full amount, then the lawyer is taxed on the attorney fee
It is basically a fine
There are no punitive damages paid by individuals or small businesses in the UK. They are sometimes applied to large corporations or government agencies or regulatory bodies, the this unusual.
I believe this case was heard under US law given the proceedings were initiated by our government
Ummm… When someone gets buggered it’s sexual. Think soap on a rope in prison.
Maybe I’m just not up on my British English, but that was not the meaning I was thinking. I was thinking rascal…
Yeah. He was a rascal. But a buggered Brit is something else entirely.
Thanks for the chuckle!
The term is widely used exactly like you’d say ‘screwed up’ , so the title is correct in that sense.
OK, Brit here.
“Bugger” has many meanings in British English.
“Buggered”, as an adjective, generally means “screwed” or “exhausted”. My computer is buggered. That was a long day, I’m buggered.
What I think you probably meant was “pissed” (drunk).
And just how is it that you’re the only one who knows this?
A Brit causing trouble because of alcohol? That’s news to me.
Hahaha… back in college I worked with handling the British holiday flights to central Florida… nothing I ever saw in a dorm or frat house compared to a 0400 departure from Orlando to Cardiff.
As a Brit, this is a perfectly acceptable colloquial use of the word buggered, having evolved beyond the purely sexual reference that other commenters refer to, over the last 3 decades or so. Equivalent to the American “screwed”. To the author: please continue to put smiles on our understated British faces!
I don’t know why they wouldn’t have just used knackered. Pissed is probably too close to offensive in places where it denotes urination.
You insist on punitive damages? Well aren’t you a vindictive bastard… You don’t mention the man actually physically assaulting anyone or causing any damage to the craft, so I don’t know why you aren’t satisfied, why you don’t think he’s been punished enough. I of course don’t know if there’s any precedent for such a punishment, but I don’t know why there would be.
Pre-9/11, I was on a TATL flight on TWA where something similar happened. A belligerent drunk was yelling and threatening to kill passengers who complained about him. The FAs did nothing inflight except speak to him once or twice and he threatened them, too, so they just disappeared. And when the guy got off the plane, nothing happened. I assure you, this ruined the start of a lot of people’s vacations, not least the children who had to experience it. So I’m with Matt – they should throw the book at anyone doing this on a plane.
Not sure I can appreciate your attempt at gaslighting by mentioning race at the end of your article. Was there a real point to it or you’re just trying to stir the pot?
Where is race mentioned? Is Chinese or Indian or Nigerian or Brit a race now? Isn’t deliberately confusing race and nationality a textbook example of gaslighting?
Anyways, either it’s acceptable for someone’s nationality to be cited in such a headline or it’s not. It can’t be fair for some and stigmatizing for others – unless you consider that not all peoples are equal, of course.
No problem with mentioning nationality but not in headline. This bloke is a disgrace to my race as he can’t hold his liquor peacefully
I think I addressed it and noted my reason for including it. It is quite an interesting thing indeed.