A Mississauga man who was arrested after his flight to Switzerland was forced to land in St. John’s Sunday night has been released from custody.
Twenty-nine-year-old Ahmed Khassim appeared in provincial court Monday morning, where he was charged with one offence under the Aeronautics Act. The court heard a second charge was in the process of being filed.
Khassim was a passenger on board Air Canada flight 878 from Toronto, headed to Zurich, Switzerland, when he allegedly became drunk and disruptive.
Court documents allege Khassim “engaged in behaviour (that) endangered the safety and security of an aircraft in flight or of persons on board by intentionally interfering with the performance of the duties of crew members.”
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His second charge is similar, alleging he “lessened the ability of crew members to perform their duties.”
Khassim told the court he was on his way to Kenya to visit relatives.
“I haven’t seen them in 12 years. I planned the flight a year ago,” he told Judge James Walsh, saying he had planned to return from Kenya March 30.
Khassim was released on a $5,000 cash deposit and is under orders to be of good behaviour, report to RNC headquarters within 24 hours for fingerprinting and photos, and to reside at his Mississauga address, except for his trip to Kenya. Walsh told Khassim he would only be released once he had provided the court with the details of his return flight to Canada.
Khassim is scheduled to make his next appearance in court — or have a lawyer represent him — Feb. 13.
“For a trial, do you think I could do it in Toronto?” he asked the judge.
“For a trial, no. If you plead not guilty, it has to be here. If you plead guilty, it can be dealt with in Ontario,” Walsh explained.
If convicted, Khassim could be facing a hefty sentence: the maximum punishment for each of his charges is a $100,000 fine and five years in jail.
That’s in addition to any compensation Air Canada — which has been known to claim compensation for passengers who delay flights through deliberate acts — may claim. Costs involved in an unexpected landing are estimated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Almost a year ago, another flight to Zurich was forced to land in Newfoundland due to an unruly passenger. A flight to the largest Swiss city from New York landed in Gander last Jan. 13 after a 24-year-old man allegedly became unruly. He was also charged.
A passenger video of Khassim’s arrest was posted on Twitter. In it, RNC officers are seen boarding the plane and are directed to Khassim, who is sitting in a window seat, by flight crew. The officers place handcuffs on him and are heard reading him his charge as they escort him off the aircraft.
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Twitter: @tara_bradbury
