Category: Transport Watch

Former security officer, Sphelele Mdletshe, was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his supervisor, Zandile Cornelia Mkhize, at King Shaka International Airport in March 2018. Mkhize reported Mdletshe to their manager after he returned late from his lunch break. Consequently, Mdletshe was dismissed. He went home, collected his gun and returned to the airport and murdered Mkhize by shooting her 11 times.

Karin Parkes, 56, and her daughter Carrie Parkes, 36, were convicted of being drunk on a plane, and Karin was also found guilty of assault. The pair caused an easyJet flight from Manchester to Agadir to divert to Casablanca in January last year. The mother and daughter were travelling with a group and were accused of being loud and playing music from a speaker. After they were reprimanded by crew, they became abusive and violent towards crew members. Other passengers intervened to stop Karin Parkes from attacking a flight attendant and a brawl ensued between approximately 15 passengers. A third passenger Jonathan Thomas, 36, was also accused of being drunk and unruly onboard the flight.

Daniel Ksiazek, 39, was handed a year-long community order and 150 hours of unpaid work after he insulted flight attendants and demanded vodka on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Singapore on 12 October. Ksiazek claimed that he had mixed pain killers with alcohol because of an injury he had sustained at work.

Vijaykrishna Maddikera, 52, was sentenced for his drunk and disruptive behaviour at Birmingham Airport on 29 December. Maddikera was so intoxicated that he could not stand during screening; he also insulted airport staff. He was given a conditional discharge for a year and ordered to pay £21 victim surcharge and £135 for court costs.

Michael Kellar, 58, was arrested after a fellow passenger on a flight to San Jose, witnessed Kellar texting his girlfriend, Gail Lynn Burnworth, 52, about how he was going to drug, molest and film children and then distribute the films in July 2017. The passenger informed crew members, resulting in Kellar being arrested upon arrival. The police also arrested Burnworth. They found hundreds of illegal explicit materials on his phone that he and Burnworth produced and shared. Burnworth was a babysitter and had access to a 5 and 7-year-old child. Kellar was jailed for 15 years.

Freya McCardle, 29, was sentenced for her drunk and unruly behaviour on a flight from Corfu to Bristol International Airport in May last year. McCardle refused to stop drinking, abused flight attendants, attempted to scratch a fellow passenger and threatened to open the aircraft’s door. She was sentenced to a two-year community order with 40 hours’ unpaid work and rehabilitation, and handed a three-month curfew from 7pm to 7am.

Chloe Haines, 26, was sentenced to two years in prison for her abusive behaviour on a Jet2 flight from Stansted to Dalaman. She was verbally and physically abusive to flight attendants and passengers, forcing the flight to return to Stansted with an RAF escort.

Michal Sponski, 26, and Tomasz Sobierai, 30, were arrested after a flight landed at Doncaster Sheffield Airport on 14 January, due to their drunk and disruptive behaviour. Sopanski was fined £440 and Sobieraj was fined £445 by Doncaster Magistrates Court.

Thirteen men were named as being a part of a terror cell that coordinated and carried out the 2016 Brussels attack on Brussels Airport and Maelbeek metro station, which killed 32 people and injured hundreds of others. Salah Abdeslam, 30, is suspected to have had a predominant role in coordinating the attacks. He was arrested for the 2015 Paris attacks several days before the Brussels attacks. Mohamed Abrini, 35, is suspected of leaving a bag, which contained a bomb, at the airport. Osama Krayem, 27, targeted the metro station. Sofien Ayari, 25, Oussama Atar, 35, Bilal El Makhouki, 29, Ali El Haddad Asufi, 36, and Hervé Bayingana were also charged in relation to the attack. Brothers Smail and Ibrahim Farisi were charged for supplying the attackers with an apartment.

Reports emerged that Yannick Kamate Mushipay was charged for attempting to steal an aircraft from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Mushipay forged a bill stating that he had purchased an aircraft from Aviation Link International in May last year. He was arrested attempting to leave the country on 9 January.