An Aer Lingus duty manager "could have been killed" during an attack by a young Dublin man on board a plane at Shannon Airport, a court heard yesterday.
Gareth Hickey (18), of Kilbarrack, Dublin, was sentenced to nine months' detention at St Patrick's Institution and fined £1,000 when he pleaded guilty to assaulting the duty manager, Mr Keith Lancaster, on November 7th, 1999.
Judge Albert O'Dea was told at Shannon District Court that there was no alcohol involved, but Hickey became agitated when the luggage compartment above his seat was taken by other passengers. When the duty manager was called to speak to him, he was punched to the ground and kicked.
Mr Lancaster said that as a result of the attack he would be on painkillers for the foreseeable future and might have to retire early.
Insp Tom Kennedy, prosecuting, told the court that Hickey was travelling to the US with his grandparents and two of his aunts. They had flown from Dublin and had an hour's transit stop at Shannon before reboarding the aircraft for the US. Aer Lingus staff noticed that Hickey's language was offensive to other passengers and requested Mr Lancaster to speak to him. As he was doing so, Hickey struck him in the face, pushed him to the ground and kicked him a number of times. The airport police were called and Hickey was taken off the plane and arrested.
Judge O'Dea said that the assault was as bad a case as he had come across. He added that it was "dreadful" that the DPP had not presented a charge appropriate to the offence which would carry a term of two years. He sentenced the accused man to six months' detention on the assault charge and imposed a fine of £1,000. The judge imposed a further three months' detention, to run consecutively, on a second charge of engaging in behaviour likely to lead to a breach of the peace.