Iranian abused air stewards when he could not get a cup of coffee

An Air Canada passenger who squared up to an air hostess and hurled racist abuse when he was refused a cup of coffee is facing jail.

Iranian Akbar Aghgaleh, 61, was flying from Montreal to London Heathrow when he allegedly confronted Kaitlin Knights-Fullum with his ‘fists clenched in a fighting stance.’

Aghgaleh yelled: ‘I need my f—ing coffee. Get me the f—ing supervisor. Oh you’re the f—ing supervisor.’

When told to calm down the businessman shouted: ‘I am f—ing calm. I am f—ing calm. If we aren’t landing in five minutes I am going to sue your f—ing ass.’

The plane was coming in to land when Aghgale began raging in front of his wife on August 29 last year, Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court heard.

Adeal Mahmood, prosecuting, said: ‘Kaitlin Knights-Fullum asked the defendant to calm down and to put his seatbelt on, but the defendant refused.

‘He stood up straight with his fists clenched with his chest out and appeared to be in a fighting stance.

‘Her colleague, Vincent Leveille, felt that the defendant may have tried to attack Kaitlin.

‘Police attended and escorted the defendant off the flight while other passengers were on board.’

In bodycam arrest footage played in court, Aghgaleh yells: ‘Gypsy Canada. Gypsy Canada. Gypsy Canadians,’ as he points his phone at passengers while escorted from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

When a police officer tells him to stop ‘mouthing off’, Aghgaleh shouts: ‘What do you want. I am British like you are.’

He then claps his hands and squares up to the officer.

Ms Knights-Fullum told the court: ‘Service had stopped because the plane went under 10,000 feet. We were just about to land.

‘I offered him a glass of water but he got very irate.

‘After that I apologised again and said I could not get him his coffee, and then he became more and more aggressive, then he took out his cell phone and started filming me.

‘He got very aggressive and irate. He stood up in his seat in a fighting stance and shouted: ‘You’re the f*cking supervisor.

‘I felt scared. Shocked. I was taken aback by his response. I was horrified that he was going to hit me or someone else. His voice was very loud.

‘I noticed other passengers looking and being ready to step in case he did get more aggressive. A male passenger was next to me ready to intervene just in case.’

Police officer Paul Scoines, who arrested Aghgaleh, told the court: ‘I just focused on getting him safely off the plane to protect everybody else.

‘He was making references to the nationality of the cabin crew. He was consistently referring to them as Gypsy Canadians.’

Mr Léveillé told the court: ‘I heard shouting and swearing and that is when I jumped into the situation.

‘It felt like he was going to be violent because of the way he was acting and shouting.’

Aghgaleh, who represented himself assisted by a Farsi interpreter, told an earlier hearing: ‘During the flight I asked five times for a coffee to take my medication. Then my wife even mentioned for it’s my medication.

‘In the nine-hour flight I didn’t have anything to drink or eat.’

He came to the UK from Tehran 37 years ago and was returning from Canada with his wife after a sight-seeing trip taking in the Niagara Falls, the court heard.

Aghgaleh, of Chiswick, west London, did not attend his trial and was convicted in his absence of racially aggravated harassment, using threatening or abusive words towards crew while in an aircraft and using threatening or abusive words.

He was also convicted of failing to obey the lawful commands of a pilot.

District Judge Rebecca Saillet said: ‘I have heard evidence from two cabin crew that day. It was clear passengers were told to sit down, ready for landing at Heathrow.

‘The defendant was abusive in both the language he used and the way he spoke to cabin crew.

‘He was abusive and threatening, so much so, that it caused Vincent Léveillé to step in case he needed to assist his colleague.

‘It is quite clear that other passengers were alarmed by the defendant’s behaviour and turned around to see what was happening.

‘It is a shame the defendant has not turned up for trial so I have not heard anything from him.’

Judge Saillet issued a warrant for Aghgaleh’s arrest and said he should expect immediate custody.