SAMUT PRAKAN: A 70-year-old German man was removed from a plane shortly before takeoff from Suvarnabhumi airport after he gestured towards his bag in an overhead bin and said "Boom" on Wednesday morning
Ernst Gunter Walter was detained and handed over to airport police.
He had boarded Thai Smile flight WE132 to Chiang Rai, scheduled to depart at 10.50am on Wednesday, police said.
The plane's crew reported that as Mr Walter was putting his bag into an overhead bin he gestured, drawing a flight attendant's attention to it, and said, "Boom".
Flight attendants responded according to the rules.
They informed the flight captain, who ordered an examination of the passenger's bag and his removal from the plane to the police station at Suvarnabhumi airport. Nothing illegal was found in the bag.
The incident delayed the flight, which finally departed 52 minutes late at 11.42am and landed safely in Chiang Rai.
Mr Walter could be liable to a prison term of up to five years and/or a fine up to 200,000 baht for his action, airport officials said.