A New York restaurant manager who was involved in an air rage incident that resulted in a New York to Athens flight being diverted to Shannon was sentenced to three months in prison and fined €300 yesterday.
Panagotis Genovezos (36), of Brooklyn, New York, was a passenger on Delta Airlines flight DL 120, which left New York's Kennedy Airport on Monday night for Athens with 165 passengers and 12 crew on board. Nearly two hours into the flight he was arrested and handcuffed by federal air marshals after he became abusive to other passengers and flight crew, making racist and anti-Semitic remarks and assaulting a passenger.
A federal air marshall, Mr Mark Bailer, told Galway District Court that he heard the accused make anti-Semitic remarks to people in front of him. "He called them 'Jews' and I also heard him call them 'fags' and 'homosexuals'," Mr Bailer said. Mr Bailer sat beside him and advised him to behave. Flight captain James Angarella, who spoke to the accused about his behaviour on two occasions, decided to divert the flight to Shannon when Genovezos threatened him with physical violence.
Genovezos became more aggressive when he heard the flight was being diverted to Shannon and he struck a passenger in the face with his elbow when the passenger asked him to sit down. The accused was then restrained and handcuffed by Mr Bailer and shortly afterwards the flight landed at Shannon where Genovezos was taken into custody by gardaí who boarded the plane.
He was later charged with being drunk to such an extent as might endanger himself and other passengers; with engaging in abusive and insulting behaviour; and with engaging in behaviour likely to cause annoyance to passengers and crew, having been requested by a crew member to cease such behaviour.
Defence solicitor Ms Caitríona Carmody said her client, who manages a small restaurant on Madison Avenue, was on his way to Athens for a family reunion and to visit his ill mother. She said her client was pleading guilty to the three charges before the court and was extremely sorry for his behaviour.
Genovezos admitted to the court that while he was not served any alcohol during the flight, he had drunk too much before boarding and was also drinking from a bottle of orange, heavily laced with vodka, during the flight.
The accused complimented Judge Conal Gibbons on the beauty of Ireland, and said that he would like to see more of the country some time.
Sentencing Genovezos to three months in prison, the judge also fined him €300. Judge Gibbons fixed recognisance in the event of an appeal on the accused man's own cash surety of €4,000 and advised the Gardai to give him back his passport so that he could visit his ill mother pending the appeal hearing before Galway Circuit Court in October.