Aer Lingus plane turned back after allegation passenger touched girl inappropriately

A captain of an Aer Lingus Boston-bound flight turned the aircraft around over the Atlantic Ocean after being informed that a male passenger had inappropriately touched a teenage girl sitting beside him on the flight, a court has heard. At Ennis District Court today, a 57-year-old Co Galway man appeared in connection with being charged with two counts of sexually assaulting the then 16-year-old girl on board the E1 135 Shannon to Boston flight on November 15th, 2023. Det Gda Ruth O’Sullivan told the court the cost to Aer Lingus of returning the Boston-bound aircraft to Shannon was E28,213. Giving an outline of the alleged sexual assaults, Det Gda O’Sullivan said the flight had departed Shannon at about 2.30pm. She said that an hour into the transatlantic flight, at about 3.30pm, a young girl informed cabin crew that a male passenger sitting beside her had touched her inappropriately. Story has details.<br/>