Edisi Acah : Mengaku bawa bom. Flight Batik Air terpaksa ditunda 3 jam

melinda_kerr · Post time 28-12-2015 01:47 AM

Edited by melinda_kerr at 28-12-2015 02:48 AM

A holidaymaker could face criminal charges after he suggested there was a bomb in his bag before a domestic flight in Indonesia.

The passenger, identified as Endang Hendri Susandi, made the joke to a Batik Air flight attendant as travellers and crew were preparing to fly from Kupang to Jakarta on Boxing Day, said Indonesian authorities.

After he was escorted off the plane he opened his luggage in front of the officers, who discovered a bottle of insect spray, which is banned from the cabin, the Antara news agency reported.

Susandi and two men he was travelling with were arrested and the plane was searched for explosives, causing a three-hour delay

No explosives were found during a search of the plane.

Indonesian media said passengers were already on board the plane when security officers became suspicious about something in Susandi’s suitcase.

He was allowed to return to his seat but as he re-entered the plane he told a flight attendant: ‘If I carry a bomb that wouldn’t be allowed, right?’

The flight attendant became alarmed and informed the pilot, who alerted police.

General Endang Sunjaya, police chief of the province of East Nusa, told the news agency:

‘We hope this arrest can be a lesson: mentioning the word “bomb” on board a plane or in a public crowd can have legal consequences.’

Last April, a Batik Air flight was forced to make an emergency landing after air traffic controllers received a bomb threat that was later confirmed to be a hoax.

The plane was carrying 125 passengers from the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon to Jakarta when it diverted to Makassar.