A Hawaiian woman has been ordered to pay nearly US$39,000 in restitution to American Airlines for interfering with a crew on a flight last year. The woman was also sentenced to more than three months of time served in connection with her actions plus three years of supervised probation.

A US District judge said 29-year-old Cayla Farris will also have to obtain approval before boarding an aircraft while she’s on probation.

According to authorities, Farris was on a Feb. 13, 2022, flight from Phoenix to Honolulu when she began using profanity and threatened the flight crew and other passengers.

The plane’s captain decided to turn the aircraft around and landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport because Farris’s behaviour prevented the crew members from continuing their duties.

Authorities said that for the other passengers aboard, the disturbance caused several flights to be rerouted to Hawaii.

Farris pleaded guilty in September to a charge of interference with a flight crew member. The judge ordered her to pay $38,952 restitution to American Airlines for delay-related costs.