A man who caused "pandemonium" on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin yesterday when he made a hoax coronavirus claim, has been given a two-month prison sentence.

30-year-old, Job van den Broek, from the Netherlands pleaded guilty to an air rage charge after he delayed a flight from Amsterdam.

Van den Broek was on board flight EI 605 yesterday, on his way to get a connecting flight to Los Angeles to propose to his girlfriend.

He refused to get off his phone after cabin crew pleaded with him to finish his call so they could give the standard flight safety demonstration.

He later lied to cabin crew telling them the reason he was using his phone was because his mother had coronavirus and he had been in contact with her.

He would not confirm or deny that he himself had Covid-19.

Dublin District Court heard cabin crew were reduced to tears and pandemonium broke out among passengers.

Judge Conal Gibbons said his crime was unbelievable while the world was in a state of fear and anxiety because of Covid-19.

He said the case was "the most exceptional of exceptional circumstances".

The judge said that Van den Broek thought there were special rules for him and told a fiction to the flight attendant.

Van den Broek buried his head in head in his hands as he was sentenced to two months in jail. But he walked free from court after being granted bail pending an appeal.

The court heard the plane arrived at Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport just before 2pm yesterday. It arrived 21 minutes ahead of schedule and was put into quarantine for a HSE inspection to be carried out as a result of the scare.

Van den Broek was held in Ballymun Garda Station overnight. He was charged with engaging in threatening abusive or insulting behaviour while on an Aer Lingus aircraft in flight.

His solicitor, Michael French, told the court today that his client was pleading guilty.

Detective Garda Dilleen said Van Den Broek had refused to get off his mobile phone as cabin crew were giving the safety demonstration. He was told he was delaying the aircraft because it could not take off until the demonstration was given.

Mid-flight, the court heard he asked to speak to the flight attendant to explain why he had been on his phone. He said his mother had the coronavirus and he had been in contact with her but did not live with her.

Cabin crew began crying, passengers overheard and it caused upset, disruption and inconvenience. When the plane landed, gardaí had to be called and arrived at "a hostile situation on the aircraft".

The HSE had to be contacted and carried out an inspection. They cleared the aircraft and declared the passengers, including the accused were safe.

The court heard Van den Broek thought it was a joke and wanted to have his photo taken with gardaí and HSE staff.

Van den Broek told the court he was sorry and wanted to clear the air with the Aer Lingus staff who refused to accept his remorse. He said he had been trying to tell the attendant, it was a personal call he said he had mentioned his mother "could have coronavirus".

He is a trainee driving instructor and has no previous convictions. Mr French said his client's actions were incredibly stupid and he had not realised the serious gravity of his actions. He said he was willing to donate €1,500 to the staff.

Judge Gibbons said he did not accept that he could buy his way out of trouble.

He said the flight attendant had tried to get Van den Broek off his phone for ten minutes and had found him to be difficult and rude.

He said his actions were designed to put fear and anxiety into the minds of people on the plane and the judge said in-flight rules had to be obeyed 100% of the time.