German held for 'bomb' comment on Nok Air plane

German held for 'bomb' comment on Nok Air plane

A Bombardier Q400 jetliner operated by Nok Air, the same type of the aircraft the airline uses for flights between Don Mueang and Loei airports. (Nok Air photo)
A Bombardier Q400 jetliner operated by Nok Air, the same type of the aircraft the airline uses for flights between Don Mueang and Loei airports. (Nok Air photo)

A German passenger on a Nok Air flight from due to depart Loei en route to Don Mueang airport was detained on Friday after he announced there was a bomb in his carry-on bag.

All passengers were evacuated and all luggage examined, but no explosives found.

The DD9705 flight was expected to leave Loei airport at 10.30am with 83 passengers and five crew on board.

After being informed that a male passenger had said there was a bomb in his bag the pilot immediately alerted airport officials.

The German passenger was escorted off the plane and taken to Loei police station, where he was being held.

All passengers were told leave the plane and all luggage examined.  

Nothing posing a risk to passengers's safety was found and the flight departed an hour later at 11.38am and landed at Don Mueang airport at 12.28pm.

No passengers were reported to have been upset about the incident.

The airline's call centre 1318 confirmed the incident.

Pol Capt Withoon Wannachai, deputy crime suppression chief at Muang police station in Loei, questioned the 49-year-old German tourist.

The man said he had been stressed, having to wait at the airport for more than two hours after the flight was delayed.

While he was taking his seat on the plane an air hostess asked if everything was all right. He had jokingly said there was nothing wrong, only a bomb in his bag, Thai News Agency reported. The hostess promptly alerted the captain. 

It is the second time recently a German tourist has been arrested for joking about having a bomb in his carry on luggage.

On Feb 28,  70-year-old Ernst Gunter Walter was taken into custody and charged at Suvarnabhumi airport after shouting "boom" to an air stewardess as he stowed his bag in the overhead rack on THAI Smile flight WE 132 bound for Chiang Rai. He also said it was intended as a joke. 

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