A former baggage handler in Australia has been fined over £1,000 for posing shirtless in an aircraft engine on TikTok.
Preslie Ginoski was fined A$2,400 (£1,136) after pleading guilty to endangering aviation safety and not wearing a lanyard in a Sydney Airport security zone.
The 23-year-old from southern Sydney was filmed in June performing press-ups and flexing his biceps in front of engine blades in the dangerous stunt on social media.
The Australian DJ posted the video, first uploaded to TikTok with the caption “quick pump before the flight”, to celebrate his final day on the job.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the former baggage handler in February, alleging that Ginoski used his position to “exploit” a restricted area.
A judge called the act “stupid”, “vain” and “irresponsible” during a hearing at the Downing Centre Court last Wednesday (2 April).
According to the Daily Mail, magistrate Greg Grogin said: “I am really at a loss as to what motivates people to do such things.”
He added: “He took off his top, he took off his required security badges and decided to show off his body.
“You chose the wrong day, the wrong thing to do and the wrong memento.”
Police said that six separate videos found on his phone showed him near or on the turbine.
His lawyer, Ahmed Dib, said Ginoski had lost an apprenticeship at a construction firm following backlash from the act.
“He was doing it for that purpose, to try and gain social media attention,” said the lawyer.
Mr Dib added that he also suffered stress after university professors said they did not want him bringing the bad conduct on campus.
Ginoski told Daily Mail Australia that he “just wanted people to get a laugh about it”, adding, “A lot of people have missed the fact that it was totally safe”.
The viral video was viewed more than two million times before it was removed for violating community guidelines, reported the outlet.
AFP Sydney Airport police commander Davina Copelin warned that the AFP will not tolerate safety breaches.
Commander Copelin said: “Airside security zones are highly regulated and secure areas, and the AFP will not tolerate breaches which may compromise the safe operations of the airport, no matter how harmless they may seem.”
Graham White, Sydney Airport’s head of security, said: “We treat all reports of potential safety breaches seriously.
“The safety of passengers, airport staff and airport operations is our top priority, and we have stringent protocols in place to uphold all safety policies.
“We commend the swift response by the AFP and will continue to work closely with them to ensure the highest standards of safety are maintained for passengers, staff and visitors.”
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