Drunk plane passenger who forced Virgin plane to turn around ordered to pay £26,000

A drunken Australian man who forced a Virgin plane to return back to Perth after threatening to ‘bring this plane down’ has been fined £26,000.

Brenden Tume was ordered to pay the sum to cover the cost of fellow passengers being put in a hotel and refuelling the plane, The Times reports.

The 23-year-old was already intoxicated when he boarded a Virgin Australia flight bound for Sydney from Perth. He fell asleep shortly after the aircraft took off.

He became abusive two hours later when flight staff tried to wake him for food and he found his bag had been moved to the cargo hold because it was too large for the overhead locker.

Tume repeatedly told flight staff to “stop talking s*** about me and accused them of having his wallet. He also said: “I will cause a stir and bring this plane down,” leading the pilot to decide to return back to Perth.

All 81 passengers had to be placed in accommodation overnight.

Tume, a removal man, was also fined £5,300 alongside the compensation due to be paid in full to Virgin.