A man who threatened to rape and murder a flight attendant has had his prison sentence more than tripled following a Court of Appeal ruling.
Salman Iftikhar, 38, from Iver near Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, made the threats while intoxicated on a London to Lahore flight in February 2023. During the eight-hour journey, he also told other cabin crew that their hotels would be blown up, prompting discussions about diverting the aircraft to Turkey due to the severity of his behaviour.
Iftikhar was originally sentenced in August at Isleworth Crown Court to 15 months in prison for one count of making threats to kill and one count of racially aggravated intentional harassment. Following a referral under the unduly lenient sentence scheme by the law officers, his sentence has now been increased to four years and three months.
The main victim of Iftikhar’s abuse said she remained “haunted and traumatised” by the incident and had to take 14 months off work. Solicitor General Ellie Reeves described the threats as “horrific” and emphasised the distress caused to both the cabin crew and passengers during the flight.
Reeves added that the case had been referred to the Court of Appeal after “several requests” from members of the public to review the original sentence.
