An unruly airline passenger has been ordered by an Australian court to pay a hefty sum for his disruptive behaviour during a flight from Perth to Sydney, which forced the plane to turn back to Perth, necessitating a fuel dump before landing.

The Perth Magistrate Court not only fined the 33-year-old man A$9,000 (S$7,800), it also ordered him to pay more than A$8,630 to cover the wasted fuel, bringing the total penalty to over A$17,630.