The stranded passengers of a British charter jet were yesterday back en-route to Cuba, while the man accused of forcing the plane's diversion was flown back to the UK.

Dean Lyons, 30, of Basingstoke, England, departed on last night's Zoom service and is scheduled to arrive in Gatwick today. He was accompanied, unrestrained by two security guards from 'Safeguard Security' and is expected to be arrested by the UK authorities on arrival.

If found guilty of air rage offences, he could face up to a year in jail and costs of up to $34,000 for diverting a passenger jet in mid-air.

Mr. Lyons allegedly forced the flight crew to land the First Choice Airways Boeing 767-300 after becoming "abusive" and lunging at an exit door on the aircraft. The plane was more than 30,000ft over the Atlantic when the incident happened, on Wednesday evening.

Passengers described Mr. Lyons as "very drunk" and said a fight almost erupted after he became "abusive to another passenger".

He was with a group of holidaymakers travelling to Varadero Beach, Cuba, and last night it appeared that his girlfriend had left him in the lurch. A source at L.F. Wade International Airport said: "Mr. Lyons was travelling in a group and with a girlfriend, but she may now be an ex-girlfriend as she is travelling on to Cuba without him."

FCA flight 082 landed in Bermuda at 6.45 p.m. where officers from the Bermuda Police Service boarded the plane to take Mr. Lyons into custody.

Yesterday, he was being watched by Police officers at the Fairmont Southampton hotel ahead of being escorted back to Gatwick on last night's Zoom flight.

The Island's authorities did not charge the 30-year-old with any offences. Dwayne Caines, Bermuda Police Service spokesman, said yesterday: "In cases like this in the past the persons have been put back on aircraft to appear in the courts in the UK."

In December 2005, the Bermuda authorities also sent back a couple who attacked British Airways cabin crew after attempting to join the 'mile high club'.

The couple was travelling to Kingston, Jamaica, and started having sex in one of the toilets. When cabin crew overheard their antics however, and ordered them back to their seats, they became abusive. Two days after the plane's diversion to Bermuda, Police sent the couple back to Gatwick, where they were arrested.

Commenting on Wednesday's incident, a spokeswoman for First Choice Holidays said: "In the interests of passenger safety, the captain decided to divert the plane to Bermuda to off-load the passenger. He was being disruptive and he was drunk so it was the sensible thing to do."

As for the 268 passengers and 12 cabin crew, the passengers stayed the night at the Fairmont Southampton and Grotto Bay Beach Resort accommodated the crew.

The jet was forced to stay overnight on the Island due to the pilots running out of air hours. The flight already had a four hour delay leaving Gatwick due to a technical fault and the crew then had to comply with statutory rest times, as per aviation requirements, on landing.

Yesterday, passengers started checking in at 9 a.m. and the flight finally taxied down the runway at 1 p.m.

Michael Osborn, Airport terminals manager, described the passengers as "in a good mood".

"They even thanked some of the security officers for their stay," he said.

Shelley Meszoly, Fairmont Southampton regional director of sales and marketing, said: "The hotel was pleased to provide accommodations last night for the First Choice passengers. Beyond that, the hotel is unable to comment on specifics."

Clyde Darrell, Grotto Bay Beach Resort manager, said: "The crew were very comfortable and happy, and checked out this morning at about 10.30 a.m."