Man admits to urinating on plane floor and exposing himself during flight

‘Families and other travellers have a right to feel safe’ on flights, says police chief

The plane was met by police at Brisbane Airport (Brisbane Airport Corporation)

A New Zealand man has been charged for a “disgraceful” act on a plane, in which he exposed himself to fellow passengers and urinated on the floor.

James Hughes admitted to the disruptive behaviour on the Bali to Brisbane flight on Wednesday (2 November), in a hearing at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The 72-year-old was charged with disorderly behaviour in public, to which he pled guilty and was sentenced to a 12-month “good behaviour bond” (similar to probation).

Australian Federal Police told the court that Mr Hughes had drunk “a number of small bottles of wine” before disrupting the nearly six-hour flight.

Prosecutors described how Mr Hughes exposed his penis and urinated on the floor of the aircraft while still seated.

Police offers were called to Brisbane Airport as the plane arrived, and issued Mr Hughes with an infringement notice for disorderly behaviour.

Brisbane Airport’s superintendent Mark Colbran said there was no excuse for such “disgraceful” behaviour.

“Anti-social or illegal behaviour is unacceptable in any setting, and the AFP [Australian Federal Police] will not tolerate it at Australia’s airports,” he said.

“The AFP expects passengers to be responsible when consuming alcohol - families and other travellers have a right to feel safe.”

Following a spike in disruptive passenger behaviour worldwide during the pandemic, some cabin crew have said they are concerned for their safety due to a string of erratic incidents in recent years.

In October, a video went viral of a US woman screaming at cabin crew and throwing a full water bottle at fellow passengers after she was told she could not fly with her dog on her lap.

In May, a US couple was kicked off a JetBlue flight after a bizarre rant in which they called fellow passengers “f****ts”, praised “the king” Elon Musk and claimed America was turning into China.

The Brisbane incident isn’t the only public urination of the year; in September a Ryanair flight to Tenerife had to be diverted to offload several disruptive passengers, including a man who reportedly urinated on one of the plane seats.

Several airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, KLM and American Airlines, banned the distribution of alcohol on flights for a period of the pandemic, with most reintroducing it in spring 2022.