A court has significantly increased the sentence of British citizen Salman Iftikhar for creating chaos on a flight from London to Lahore and threatening to rape and kill a female cabin crew member. 

The father of three was previously sentenced to just 15 months in prison, which was criticized by the public and law enforcement officials as “overly lenient.”

Later, when the matter was sent to the Attorney General’s Office, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to a total of four years and three months. The incident, which occurred on February 7, 2023, recently came into the spotlight again after a lengthy legal process. Solicitor General Ellie Reeves described the brutality of the incident and his abuse of the cabin crew as “disgusting and appalling.”

Panic on the flight

Iftikhar was traveling with his family on a London-Lahore flight and began behaving abnormally after drinking too much champagne during the journey. When the ice self-serve was stopped, he attacked the cabin crew and began to abuse them while filming on his phone.