Man jailed for delaying flight by lying that his mum had coronavirus

An Aer Lingus passenger who made cabin crew cry by lying that his mum had coronavirus has been jailed for two months.

Job van den Broek, 30, while on an Aer Lingus flight, caused pandemonium among passengers when he told cabin crew that he was talking to his mum on phone who had coronavirus and he had contracted the disease from her.

Broek, on March 11, made the claim after he refused putting his phone down so staff could perform a safety demonstration and delayed flight for over ten minutes. Cabin crew cried upon hearing him say he had contracted the virus when in reality he just wanted to delay the flight.

Broek from Netherlands intended to travel from Amsterdam to LA to propose to his girlfriend but was arrested at Dublin Airport and kept in a police cell over night. He has now pleaded guilty to an air rage charge at Dublin District Court today.
While in court, Broek  said he was incredibly remorseful for his stupidity and thought it was a joke and wanted to have his photo taken with Health Safety Executive staff.

The Judge, Conal Gibbons, admonished him saying he shouldn’t have lied knowing the world was in a state of fear and anxiety because of coronavirus.

He has now been sentenced to two months in jail pending an appeal.