A FURIOUS passenger who threatened to shoot Robin Hood Airport staff after being told he had drunk too much to fly has been jailed for six months.
Ivor Guest started making threats to airport staff after being told he had drunk too much alcohol to board his flight to Jersey and said he would return with a machine gun.
The 44-year-old was the latest disruptive passenger to be dealt with by p
olice at the Finningley site.
Police today revealed figures which show they were called out 36 times between August 2007 and this March to deal with troublemakers at the terminal.
Guest had been due to fly out on March 22 and had been drinking when he arrived at the departure gate, Doncaster magistrates heard.
Staff consulted the aircraft's captain whether Guest should be allowed on board who ruled he should not be allowed to fly.
Katheryn Ashton, prosecuting, said: "When he was turned away he said he was a soldier. He said 'I've got a gun and I'm going to shoot you'."
Fearful staff called security and when Guest continued to make threats, police were called.
Ms Ashton added: "He shouted to police 'I've got ammo, I've got mates, I've got an AK47. I'll be back'."
He continued to abuse police after they arrested him and smeared food and drink on his cell wall.
Dale Harris, defending, said Guest, from Lincoln, suffered from a personality trait disorder.
He said Guest had only had around four drinks in the departure lounge and had been civil to those around him. When he was told he could not board he thought it was a reaction that was out of proportion.
Guest had previously been arrested for being abusive towards staff on a train in Peterborough and had breached a conditional discharge assaulting a policeman and criminal damage in December.
He admitted two counts of threatening behaviour, at the airport and on the train, under the Public Order Act and breaching a conditional discharge and was jailed for a total of 26 weeks.
District judge John Foster said: "People who run the public transport system are like any other public service and are particularly susceptible to people behaving in the manner you have behaved on the occasions we are dealing with today."
A Robin Hood Airport spokesman said the case showed that passenger safety was the number one priority for airports and airlines and warned passengers they would not be allowed on planes if they had drank too much and were deemed a risk to safety.
He said: "Such threatening behaviour is taken seriously at any time, but particularly so at security conscious environments such as airports."
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The full article contains 481 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.