Dundee drinkers who forced Jet2 flight to be diverted appear in court.

The court heard that the first-time travellers grew drunk and rude during their holiday flight to Turkey.

A court heard that a drunk Dundee lady kicked off and spit on a passenger on a holiday trip to Turkey that was redirected to Germany. Courtney Maich, 27, was being escorted off the plane by German police officers when she unleashed the “disgraceful and disgusting” attack on the mother of a child on the Jet2 trip.

Maich and Alannah O’Neill, 28, had just taken off from Edinburgh Airport on their first flight to Dalaman when they started drinking their own booze.

The two, both from Dundee, refused to stop shouting and swearing despite numerous requests from cabin crew, and Maich was even issued a written warning by the captain.

According to Edinburgh Sheriff Court, the couple’s actions prompted the pilot to divert to Cologne some 90 minutes after takeoff, and Maich was taken off the plane.

The court heard that passengers were grounded for three hours before the jet could continue to its destination, and a return flight to Edinburgh had to be cancelled until the next day.

Jet2 was compelled to pay £27,370.53 to accommodate passengers and crew in a hotel overnight, and the return flight arrived in Edinburgh 16 hours later.

The court was informed that the airline has now filed a civil action against both women in an attempt to collect their damages.

Pulled from plane

According to fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn, the incident began when Maich was ordered to move shortly after takeoff, about 4 p.m. on October 8, 2024, due to being in the wrong seat.

She refused and grew hostile towards the cabin attendants. She was travelling with a bigger party, and drunken arguments were claimed to have broken out among the passengers, including O’Neill, prompting the decision to detour to Cologne.

Ms Gunn stated: “German police then boarded the flight, and while removing Maich from the plane, she spat at one of the passengers who was with her husband and seven-year-old son.”

“The spit landed on her body and she also shouted ‘f*** you all’ towards the passengers.” Mobile phone footage of Maich being arrested and removed off the flight was extensively shared on social media.

‘Catastrophic consequences’

The pair appeared in court for sentence after pleading guilty to a variety of charges last month. Maich acknowledged to acting in a threatening or abusive manner and assaulted a woman by spitting on her body.

Both admitted to disobeying the pilot’s directions, such as refusing to consume alcohol, shouting, swearing, and acting disruptively and antisocially.

The Crown accepted not guilty pleas from co-accused Natasha Gilligan, 49, of Dundee, and granted a non-appearance arrest warrant for fourth accused Michaela Hawes, 35, of Dundee.

Sheriff Peter Anderson stated that the couple’s actions had “catastrophic consequences” for the other passengers and had “ruined the start of a holiday for a large number of people”.

The sheriff said, “All of this because you couldn’t control your booze. “This was utterly disgraceful conduct and cannot be allowed to happen again.”

Maich and O’Neill were sentenced to a 12-month supervision order, 120 hours of unpaid work, and both will be tagged and need to stay at home from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., Maich for four months and O’Neill for three.

Maich was also ordered to pay £200 in reparation for what the sheriff deemed a “disgraceful and disgusting” assault.