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An American Airlines flight was delayed more than four hours due to a passenger naming their Wi-Fi hotspot "I have a bomb" last Friday (February 7), the Daily Mail reports.
Police boarded Flight 2863 at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and asked the passenger to identify themselves, presuming the incident was part of a "prank," according to a Redditor who detailed the experience on the Austin subreddit.
"Eventually, several cops board the plane and announce that someone was playing a ‘prank.’ The prank being that someone on board had renamed their hotspot to ‘I have a bomb.’ Cue the groaning from the entire f***ing plane when the cop announced this. Then the cop gave the opportunity for the individual to come clean (which of f***ing course they didn’t)," the Redditor wrote.
Authorities reportedly had all of the passengers deboard the plane and return to the gate, at which point they were told they had to go through screening again. The incident caused a 5-6 hour delay before passengers were able to reboard the plane, however, the person with the suspicious Wi-Fi network name was not identified.
"We screen again and head back to the gate (this whole process was a 5-6 hour delay btw)," the Redditor wrote. "Eventually we are able to board again and take off but the whole thing was just so f***ing infuriating because after all that they were not even able to determine who the hell did this s**t. If it was you and you are reading this… you are a stupid, cowardly, f***ing idiot and I hope you are found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The plane was confirmed to have been swept for explosives and cleared to depart at 6:15 p.m. local time, airport officials confirmed to the Daily Mail.