An airline passenger, who was fined $20,000 or six months imprisonment for disorderly conduct on an aircraft, was successful yesterday in having the fine reduced to $500 on appeal.

The passenger, Rachell Ramsay, had pleaded guilty in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court to the charge. Resident Magistrate Wilson Smith sentenced her in September last year.

The facts of the case are that in September last year, a passenger was being taken off a flight at the Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay when Ramsay began to "shout and swear" at the cabin supervisor. The pilot was unwilling to continue the flight with Ramsay and the police were summoned to remove her from the aircraft.

Ramsay, who was represented on appeal by the law firm Ho Lyn, Ho Lyn and Morris, appealed on the grounds that the RM erred in law when he imposed the fine because the maximum penalty for such an offence under the Airport Authority Regulations was $500. The Court of Appeal upheld the submissions and reduced the fine.