View frontman 'air rage' case postponed at Paisley Sheriff Court

The air rage case against Scots rocker Kyle Falconer was adjourned today - to find out what country he is accused of breaking the law in.

The View frontman is said to have hurled homophobic abuse at a male cabin crew member and threatened other passengers while armed with two bottles on a flight home from Spain.

He allegedly lost the plot on board a Jet2 flight between Reus Airport and Glasgow International Airport on June 17 this year.

The Dundee singer was hauled off the plane by French police in Nantes after the captain made an emergency stop to have him removed.

The musician later traveled back to Scotland where he was arrested by officers from Police Scotland, leading to the court case against him.

Falconer is being prosecuted over the claims at Paisley Sheriff Court and the case against him called at the Renfrewshire court today.

But the 29-year-old, of Lochee, Dundee, was not present for short hearing, where he was represented by Solicitor Advocate Chris McKenna, on behalf of Falconer's principal solicitor, Paul Kavanagh.

Mr McKenna asked Sheriff John Herald to adjourn the case without recording a plea for further investigations to be made.

The defence lawyer said it had to be established which country the plane was registered in and which country's air space it was traveling through at the time of the alleged offences.

He said this was essential to determine whether or not any alleged criminal behaviour on the flight would fall under the jurisdiction of Paisley Sheriff Court.

When asked for his view on Mr McKenna's motion, Procurator Fiscal Depute David McDonald, prosecuting, replied: "I have no opposition to my friend's motion."

Sheriff Herald granted the motion, and the case was adjourned until next month for the inquiries to be made. The case against the singer - famous for hits Same Jeans, Wasted Little DJs and Shock Horror - first called in court last month and was adjourned until today to make sure he knew about it.

It's understood he was seeking help for alcohol and drug issues at the Lanna Rehab clinic in Thailand at the time of last month's court hearing.

Falconer - who shot to fame in 2007 when his band's debut album, Hats Off to the Buskers, topped the UK Album Chart - has never appeared in the dock to answer the two charges of alleged threatening and abusive behaviour he faces.

But court documents show he is accused of shouting, swearing and acting aggressively towards fellow passengers while armed with two bottles.

He is accused of behaving "in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm" by shouting, swearing and acting aggressively towards other passengers "whilst in possession of two bottles."

Prosecutors claim he breached Section 38(1) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Scotland Act 2010 by acting in the manner described.

And he faces a second charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by hurling homophobic abuse at a cabin crew member on board the flight. He is accused of breaking Articles 142(b) and 241(6) of The Air Navigation Order 2009 and Sections 60 and 61 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 by uttering a homophobic remark to Ryan Carpenter on the flight.

And prosecutors claim Falconer's alleged behaviour was "aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation" as per Section 2 of the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009.

Falconer - whose band walk on stage to chants of "The View are on fire" from fans - was originally due to appear in the dock over his behaviour on the flight on Monday, June 19.

But he had a six-hour wait for a hearing that never took place, arriving at the Renfrewshire court in the morning and leaving with his fiancee around 4pm without appearing in the dock.

The pair, wearing Fred Perry shirts, sat in the criminal office within the building before being photographed frolicking together in the street outside.

A Jet2 spokesman said on the day of Falconer's arrest in France: “We will be launching a full investigation working alongside Police Scotland and will be following due process under the law to prosecute and recover our costs incurred by this unnecessary diversion.

“We apologise to our customers for having to witness such disruptive behaviour and for the delay to their journey home.

“Our Onboard Together initiative commits to taking a zero-tolerance stance against anti-social behaviour for the wellbeing of our customers and crew.”

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