Imagine settling in for your flight, expecting a smooth journey, only to hear the announcement that your plane is delayed because someone thought it was funny to name their WiFi ‘I Have a Bomb.’ That’s exactly what happened on American Airlines flight 2863 from Austin to Charlotte on Friday afternoon. A passenger’s supposedly funny pank led to an over four-hour delay on the flight. The incident also triggered a police intervention where all the passengers were marched through the airport for re-screening.
American Airlines Flight Disrupted By Bizarre Prank
luggage is lined up outside gate 24 at abia and the gate inside is blocked off
byu/velvet-violets inAustin
American Airlines flight 2863 bound for Charlotte was all set to take off from Austin Airport. Shortly before takeoff, authorities found out that a passenger had set their personal WiFi hotspot name to ‘I Have a Bomb.’ Naturally, this act triggered a serious security response. Police boarded the plane and asked the person responsible to come forward but no one did.
The flight’s delay frustrated all the passengers, who were forced to deboard the plane. View From The Wing reported that at least eight police officers, TSA agents, K9 units, and explosive device specialists were present at the scene. To ensure there was no real danger, all the luggage was also removed from the plane and placed in a queue on the tarmac.
According to View From The Wing reports, the already irritated travellers were made even more uncomfortable by being escorted back through the airport in a single-file queue for a full security rescreen.
‘I Have A Bomb’ WiFi Name Sparked Chaos
During the rescreening process, authorities checked passengers’ electronic devices to check hotspot names and settings, hoping to find the prankster. But it seems the culprit either quickly changed the name back or simply never got caught.
Ultimately, it was deemed to be a false alarm. However, it serves as a stark reminder that joking about bombs, especially on an airplane, is never funny. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that anything involving bombs will immediately escalate to a major security concern.
Eventually, after all the additional screenings, passengers reboarded the 25-year-old Boeing 737-800 and took off for Charlotte. Unfortunately, due to the unforeseen delay, many passengers missed their connecting flights.
Cover Image Courtesy: Reddit
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