LONDON: A 41-year-old man, believed to be of Indian heritage, has appeared in court in Scotland, charged with assault and endangering the safety of an aircraft after disrupting a flight from London Luton airport to Glasgow with loud chants.
Abhay Devdas Nayak, who was arrested after the easyJet flight landed at Glasgow on Sunday morning, did not enter any guilty or not-guilty plea as he appeared on Monday at Paisley Sheriff Court, bordering the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Videos circulating on social media showed the accused shout "death to America, death to Trump" and "Allahu Akbar".
"We were called to a report of a man causing a disturbance on a flight arriving into Glasgow around 8:20 am on Sunday, 27 July, 2025, Police Scotland said in a statement. We believe the incident to be contained and that nobody else was involved.
"We are aware of videos circulating online and these are being assessed by counter-terrorism officers," the statement said.
Nayak, who is from Luton in Bedfordshire near London, is not thought to be facing any terrorism charges as he was charged under the UK's Air Navigation Order.
One of the charges relates to a person recklessly or negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft, or any person in an aircraft.
The videos circulating online of the on-air incident show the accused being tackled to the floor of the plane by two co-passengers.
The pilot is then said to have executed an emergency landing where Nayak was arrested by Police Scotland officers.
He is now remanded to judicial custody until a court appearance next week.