Man arrested at Shannon airport in alleged ‘air rage’ incident on Ryanair flight appears in court

At a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday evening, Judge Mary Larkin remanded Ioan Remi Makula in custody to Limerick Prison to next Wednesday.

Mr Makula, with an address at Fearann Ri, Doughiska, Galway, is charged with engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour on the flight from Manchester to Shannon on Friday.

Tara Godfrey, solicitor for the accused, said that there was no application for bail for her client.

Mr Makula is charged with being a person on board a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Shannon on February 4 and engaging in behaviour of a threatening, abusive or insulting nature whether by word or gesture with intent to cause of breach of the peace of being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace might have been occasioned.

The charge is contrary to Section 2(a) of the Air Navigation and Transport Act.

In evidence, Garda Chris Healy of Shannon garda station told the court that he arrested Mr Makula at Shannon Airport at 9.40pm on Friday and later charged him at Shannon garda station at midnight.

Gda Healy said that in response to caution and charge, Mr Makula made no reply.

Judge Larkin granted legal aid to Ms Godfrey to represent Mr Makula in the case.

Mr Makula was standing in the body of the court for the brief hearing and Judge Larkin told him: “Sit down young man. Sit down and stop drawing attention to yourself.”

Mr Makula then sat down at a nearby seat.

Sgt Noel O’Rourke told the court that there is an issue that when Mr Makula was arrested at Shannon Airport he was travelling on a Romanian passport. He said Mr Makula had previously surrendered an Irish passport.

In reply, Judge Larkin told Sgt O’Rourke that if there is an application for bail for Mr Makula at a later court date, gardaí can insert that detail in their 'bail-pack'.

Sge said that if bail is granted in the future that Mr Makula would be directed to hand over all passports to gardaí.

Ms Godfrey asked that a psychiatric assessment be carried out on Mr Makula while in custody.

She said her client is on medication at the moment and told the court that his mother had a plastic bag in court with his medication to give to him.

Judge Larkin ordered that Mr Makula appear at Ennis District Court on Wednesday via video-link from prison.