Briton must stay in Australian jail

The Qantas flight was due to leave Cairns Airport

A County Durham man has been told he must remain in an Australian prison after threatening to hijack a passenger plane.

Thomas James Lilico, 21, from Darlington, was sentenced to three months in jail on 2 January after pleading guilty to threatening staff on a Qantas aircraft.

Lilico sprayed an aerosol inside the cabin and told the crew he had a knife as the plane was about to leave Cairns Airport.

On Wednesday a judge rejected his appeal against the prison term.

A Qantas stewardess heard Lilico's hijack threat

Lilico admitted making a threatening and false statement and was ordered to pay 300 Australian dollars as a 12-month good behaviour bond.

In an appeal hearing, district court judge Michael Noud refused to overturn the sentence.

He said: "For my part, given recent tragedies overseas, no sentence is appropriate other than the one given, and that is despite (Lilico's) youth, good character, references and other mitigating features.

"Also because of the importance of general deterrent, the sentence is the correct one."

Lilico, who was on a working holiday in Australia, produced an aerosol can from his hand luggage and sprayed the cabin of a Qantas Airways flight before it left Cairns for the northern city of Darwin on New Year's Day.

An airline attendant also heard Lilico threatening to use a knife to hijack the plane.

'Acceptable sentence'

Lilico told federal police he did not remember making the remark and had drunk eight pints of beer in the six hours before boarding the plane.

During Lilico's sentencing in Cairns Magistrates Court, the prosecution and defence counsels both told the court that a fine was an acceptable sentence.

However, magistrate Ken Lynn said he wanted to make an example of Lilico because people making threats aboard aircraft needed to be held accountable in the current world climate.

No knife was found on Lilico when he was searched after being taken off the plane, but one was later found in his luggage.

The Australian government has introduced the new anti-terrorism laws in the wake of the Bali bombing, which claimed the lives of scores of Australian citizens.