Late passenger arrested after 'phoning in bomb threat so he wouldn't miss his flight' (and he could now be banned from flying)
- Police in Italy claim the man tried to stop an Alitalia plane with a fake threat
- The 46-year-old was running late for his flight from Turin Airport to Rome
- Plane returned to the terminal, where passengers and bags were searched
- Man was arrested when he arrived at the airport and held overnight
- He faces a prison sentence and could be added to a passenger blacklist
An Italian man is facing a possible prison sentence or hefty fine after he allegedly called in a bomb threat so he wouldn’t miss his flight.
The 46-year-old passenger was running late for his flight from Turin to Rome, so he called a local police station and claimed there was a bomb on board the Alitalia plane, said police.
He succeeded in his attempt to delay the flight, but he was arrested by police when he arrived at Turin Airport.
The Alitalia plane was moments away from take-off when the bomb threat was made to a local police station
According to a report by Italian newspaper La Stampa, the man called police and claimed he overheard two Arabic-speaking passengers say ‘they had put a bomb on board’.
The plane was moments away from take-off when the threat triggered a state of emergency at the airport on Thursday night.
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It was forced to return to the terminal, where all of the passengers and their luggage were removed and searched.
After the threat was determined to be a hoax, the plane took off and arrived in Rome two and a half hours behind schedule.
After a search by police, passengers boarded a second time and arrived in Rome (pictured) two hours late
The man who allegedly called in the threat was travelling to Palermo for work, and was held overnight by police and released the following morning, La Stampa reported.
In addition to facing time in prison and a fine if convicted, the man could be added to Italy’s passenger blacklist.
In May, a 33-year-old man was arrested by French police after calling Bordeaux-Mérignac airport and claiming there was a bomb.
Police said the man made the bogus threat to delay a plane because his girlfriend was stuck in traffic and in danger of missing her flight.
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