Passenger at Australian airport charged with assault and illegal plane entry
The case involving an Indian national comes after several incidents at other Australian airports in which passenger safety was threatened
A passenger has been charged with forcing his way onto an aircraft and assaulting a security officer at Sydney airport.
Pritheiraj Janardhan Kurapothula, an Indian national, is accused of deliberately opening an aerobridge door and boarding a plane at the Australian airport’s international terminal on October 28.
Flight crew members spoke to the man before he exited the jet and reportedly attacked a guard, leaving him unconscious.
Federal police officers arrested the 27-year-old and charged him with assault occasioning bodily harm and entering an airport security area without permission.
Kurapothula faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.
The suspect appeared before a local court on Wednesday, where his lawyer sought to have the charges dealt with on mental health grounds.
He requested more time to prepare documents to explore legal remedies under a section of the Mental Health Act exempting an individual from punishment if they were found to have been suffering from a mental or cognitive impairment.
