Dublin - For many people, flying brings a sense of freedom or heightens the anticipation of their next vacation. But for some, an airplane is a source of enormous stress. To counteract his fear of flying, one man took medication, but it had exactly the opposite effect.

According to a report in The Guardian , a 34-year-old American boarded a United Airlines flight in Amsterdam on Monday to return to New York.

He was aware that the upcoming flight would cause him great anxiety, so he popped a few pills of Xanax - a benzodiazepine - in advance. These tablets fall into the category of prescription drugs, as they can also be abused as a narcotic . Their effect is comparable to a strong sedative and are used to treat panic and anxiety disorders.

However, these strong tablets were apparently not enough for the American. That's why he got drunk before boarding the plane. The passenger then behaved very conspicuously on the plane. He drew attention to himself by shouting, threatening and insulting other passengers and the crew.

He also seemed to have lost control of his bladder, as he urinated on the seat and in the aisle of the plane.

This finally broke the camel's back and the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in Dublin, Ireland. At the airport, the American was finally arrested by the police and charged by the airline.

After his drug trip was over, the 34-year-old pleaded guilty to all charges and responded humbly to the airline. Together with his lawyer , he offered to make a payment of 5,000 US dollars in compensation, but the court rejected this offer and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment last Tuesday.

The judge responded to the offer with the words: "This amount does not even come close to the damage this man has caused." According to media reports, this stopover cost the plane 30,000 euros worth of fuel.

Of course, there were also additional costs for the crew and the cleaning of the contaminated aircraft. But the other passengers who suffered as a result of this incident also had to be compensated.

It was only last Monday that the airline Ryanair expressed the wish to introduce an alcohol limit for passengers.