Man jailed for bomb hoax on SAS flight to Malta

A man has been jailed for a month for having told security staff at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport that there was a bomb on board a flight to Malta, hoping to delay departure so that he would have time to make the flight.

2 February 2013, 12:00am
by Karl Stagno-Navarra

1 min read

The man, who was heavily intoxicated at the time, told Arlanda airport officials last July that the SAS flight to Malta that he was due to board was carrying a bomb.

The plane, which was in the midst of preparations for take-off, aborted its procedure and returned to the terminal building.
All the passengers were escorted off the aircraft and boarded a new flight leaving two hours later. The aircraft was searched and no trace of a bomb was found.

The man was subsequently arrested and was convicted for false alarm yesterday.
According to Stockholm's district court it had been established that the man's intention was to stop the flight, according to a report by the Gefle Dagblad daily.

Despite the cautious approach, security staff remained sceptical throughout the incident that there was in fact any danger to passengers or the aircraft.

"He was never on the flight so it was impossible for him to have put bomb on the plane himself," Kennet Knuts, the Station Commander of Arlanda Border Police told the press.