Unruly United passenger must pay $20K for diverting Newark-bound flight, threatening to ‘mess up plane’

An unruly and “physically aggressive” passenger aboard a United Airlines flight has been ordered to pay the company more than $20,000 after his behavior forced the pilot to divert the Newark-bound plane to Maine.

Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald, of England, must fork over $20,638 in restitution to United for the March 1 incident in which he threatened to “mess up the plane,” a federal judge ruled last Thursday.

The 30-year-old, who has been in custody since his in-air outburst, was also sentenced to time served and will be sent back to the UK by US Immigration officers, according to the sentencing filed in the US District Court of Maine.

MacDonald, who pleaded guilty to one count of interference with flight crew members, was arguing loudly with his girlfriend on the United Flight 883 from London’s Heathrow Airport and was asked to quiet down by the head flight attendant, according to an FBI affidavit.

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He initially complied but a few minutes later, he was back at it — this time yelling at another flight attendant, the document states.

The head flight attendant stood between the “verbally and physically aggressive” passenger and the other attendant who walked away.

The crew member attempted to calm down the crazed Englishman — but he only got worse.

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MacDonald asked the head attendant if he would like to “have a problem” and threatened to “mess up the plane” while putting his hands on the attendant’s shoulders and backing him into a corner, according to the affidavit.

Crew members and a passenger were then able to put MacDonald in flex cuffs but were unable to restrain him in a seat as he continued on his tirade.

The head flight attendant and the pilot decided that the plane should be landed as soon as possible to remove him from the aircraft for the safety of the crew and flight.

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The plane, with 160 passengers and 10 crew members on board, then touched down in Bangor, Maine — where the hothead and his girlfriend were removed and met by law enforcement at the airport — before it took off again to head to its original destination in New Jersey.

Videos posted to social media showed MacDonald being escorted off the plane and carried down the steps with his ankles and hands zip-tied to a waiting police car on the tarmac as other passengers cheered.

Reports of unruly passengers hit a staggering peak in 2021 after pandemic-era travel restrictions were lifted with nearly 6,000 reported , according to FAA statistics .

The numbers have dipped significantly since, but are still above pre-pandemic levels. There were 2,075 reporters last year and 649 so far in 2024.

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