A Hawaiian woman has been ordered to pay almost $40,000 in restitution to American Airlines after she interfered with a crew member and forced her flight to be diverted.
Cayla Farris, 29, was sentenced by District Judge Susan Brnovich to a time-served sentence of 3.6 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, the US Attorney’s Office in Arizona said in a release.
During that time, Farris will not be allowed to travel by commercial aircraft without prior approval.
She also was ordered to pay $38,952.00 in restitution to American Airlines for delay-related costs due to her actions on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu on Feb. 13, 2022.
“During the flight, Farris used profanity and threatened the flight crew and passengers onboard. As a result of her behavior, the flight crew was unable to continue their duties,” the statement said.
“The captain ultimately decided to turn the plane back to Phoenix. For passengers on board, this disturbance caused several flights to be re-routed to Hawaii,” it added.
Farris pleaded guilty Sept. 12 to interference with a flight crew member