Airplane passenger fined for urinating in a cup during deplaning delay

SYDNEY — A passenger has been fined for urinating in a cup during a delay in deplaning after landing at Sydney Airport.

The incident, after a 3-hour Air New Zealand flight from Auckland, occurred last December and a Sydney court fined the 53-year-old man $395 for offensive behavior in February, officials said Friday.

The incident only came to public attention on Friday, when New Zealand news website Stuff reported that a passenger in the same row, identified only as Holly, said she had reported the behavior to the air crew.

She said she and her 15-year-old daughter were sitting in the aisle and middle seats when the man in the window seat, whose name has not been released, was urinating in a cup.

Holly said the plane had been on the tarmac for about 20 minutes, waiting for a terminal gate to be allocated, when she heard the unmistakable sound of the passenger urinating in a cup, Stuff reported.

She said the man was “obviously quite drunk” and spilled urine on a flight attendant as he left the plane, it reported.

But the mishap with the attendant wasn’t his crime. Australian Federal Police said in a statement that officers removed him from the plane because he had “urinated into a cup while in his seat.”

Air New Zealand said it does not comment on individual incidents. It said it bans between five and 10 customers each month for disruptive behavior, including intoxication.