A man has been jailed after sexually assaulting four cabin crew on a Jet2 flight to Tenerife.
Joseph McCabe, 40, groped and slapped the buttocks of two air stewards before grabbing a third by the waist and trying to hug a fourth on the March 15 flight last year.
McCabe made several sexual remarks to one woman regarding her tights and makeup, as well as asking her how old she was and where she lived.
The former soldier also ripped up a written notice he had received for his drunken behaviour during the flight from Edinburgh, which took off at around 8.30 am.
He threw his bank card at an employee of the airline, and when his behaviour forced the plane to be diverted, he started dancing in the aisle.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how Portuguese police boarded the aircraft to arrest McCabe at the island of Porto Santo in March last year, according to the Daily Record.
McCabe served for five years as a private in the Royal Logistic Corps before he established a clothing business named B-Heard in memory of a friend who died by suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
McCabe, of Tollcross, Glasgow, now leads his own construction firm and co-owns a party boat business called The Drunken Anchor.
Whilst appearing in the court last month, he pleaded guilty to the four sexual offences.
He appeared in front of the same court for sentencing on Friday.
Sheriff Alison Stirling heard that McCabe had received a lifelong ban from flying with Jet2 airlines since his arrest, and he had refused to pay the £5,000 fine given to him by the airline.
Sheriff Stirling said the incident had involved "a high level of culpability and a high level of harm."
McCabe was handed a sentence of 46 weeks in custody and was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
He has been hit with a non-harassment order, which bans him from contacting the victims indefinitely.
Solicitor Anna Kocela, who represented McCabe, explained that he had been drinking heavily at the time of the offence as a result of a family bereavement.
The court previously heard from prosecutor Miriam Farooq that the Tenerife-bound flight took off with 110 passengers, including families and children.
After the offence, Ms Farooq said: "A decision was made to divert the aircraft and the captain was instructed by air traffic control to land at the airfield at Porto Santo.
"After landing, the accused got out of his seat and began dancing in the aisle. Portuguese police boarded the flight and arrested him, and took him into custody."
