SYDNEY — A top Australian investment banker based in New York was kicked off a Sydney-bound flight after allegedly refusing to turn off his cell phone and behaving disruptively.
Alan James, a New York-based senior managing director of Macquarie Group, refused to turn off his phone when asked by a flight attendant while Qantas flight 108 was taxiing at Kennedy Airport en route to Sydney via Los Angeles on May 22, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Thursday.
For his alleged disruptive behavior James was offloaded from the flight in Los Angeles.
“A male passenger was denied travel on Qantas flight 108 from Los Angeles to Sydney on May 22 after behaving disruptively and refusing to follow crew instructions,” a Qantas spokesman said.
The FBI told the Herald it was notified of an incident on the flight but no charges were filed.
James was then allegedly involved in a second incident with Qantas staff at Los Angeles International Airport and he was not allowed to board a later flight to Sydney.
He was eventually permitted on a Qantas flight to Sydney the following day.
James has been based at Macquarie’s New York office since 2005 after jumping from Citigroup, where he was head of investment banking in Australia.