A couple whose argument forced a Jet2 flight to Gran Canaria to be diverted carried on a holiday after sleeping a night on airport benches, a court heard.
Ronald St Ville, 53, and Pauline Gordon, 66, were removed from the Stansted to Las Palmas flight in Faro after the mid-air row in July 2017, Chelmsford Crown Court was told.
Jet2 has since sent letters demanding compensation, the jury was told. The couple, of Stratford, London, deny endangering an aircraft, the BBC reported.
After the couple, who are still together, spent the night in the Portuguese airport, Gordon called family members who helped her book a flight back to Gatwick and another out to Gran Canaria the next day, to continue with their holiday.
The jury heard the couple began arguing after St Ville refused to tell his partner who he had been texting.
Giving evidence, St Ville said he had made no threats of violence towards Gordon and the argument had only lasted “a few minutes”.
“I couldn’t see any need to divert the flight,” he told the court.
The trial continues.