Belgian Man Gets 10 Months for Assaulting Flight Attendants on SWISS Flight

A violent outburst on a SWISS flight from the United States to Switzerland has landed a Belgian passenger in jail for 10 months. The incident occurred at Newark Airport in 2024, but a court handed down the sentence only recently.

Jan Daeninck, a Belgian national, was one of 236 passengers aboard the Airbus A330. As the plane took off, he ignored crew instructions, stood up, and grabbed a flight attendant by the chest. He then shook the woman and screamed in her face. When she managed to break free, Daeninck rushed toward the cockpit and tried to force his way in.

Another flight attendant intervened, but the passenger knocked her to the floor and kicked her repeatedly in the stomach and face. Crew members eventually pulled him off the victim, but he remained aggressive—attempting to bite those restraining him and threatening further violence.

Upon landing in Zurich, Daeninck was arrested. The assaulted flight attendant was taken to a hospital for treatment. In addition to his 10-month prison sentence, the court ordered him to pay $73,000 in compensation and gave him a one-year suspended sentence.

This case echoes a separate incident where a Frontier Airlines passenger, on a flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Chicago, tried to open the plane’s door and choked a flight attendant—an event captured on video.