Flight Delayed After Someone Named Their Wi-Fi ‘There Is a Bomb on the Flight’

An American Airlines flight was delayed last week after a passenger discovered a Wi-Fi hotspot titled “There is a bomb on the flight.”

The flight—which was scheduled from Austin, Texas, to Charlotte, North Carolina on the afternoon of Feb. 7—was delayed nearly five hours after a passenger showed a flight attendant the alarming Wi-Fi name. 

A passenger onboard the plane, Bruce Steen, 63, of Charlotte, North Carolina, told ABC News that a flight attendant called the cockpit after learning about the issue. Rather than freaking everyone out with the truth, the pilot ended up telling passengers there was an “administrative issue” and took the plane back to the gate.

Eventually, according to Steen, the pilot explained the situation by stating that “somebody renamed their hotspot.” The flight attendants reportedly alerted the Austin Police Department and the Department of Aviation about the incident.

American Airlines Flight Delayed Due to Hotspot Network Name

After some time, an Austin PD lieutenant came onboard to speak with passengers. Similar to how a teacher would scold a class in middle school, the officer allegedly said: “If this is a joke, please raise your hand now, because we can deal with the practical joke differently than if this if we have to do a full-blown investigation of what’s going on here,” according to Steen.

However, no one admitted to the act, forcing everyone to get off the plane. Officials allegedly checked each passenger’s hotspot, while bags and luggage were either rescreened or sniffed by bomb dogs to ensure there were no explosives. 

The plane was able to take off safely nearly five hours later.

Imagine being delayed several hours because of a stupid joke…