Man calls in bomb hoax on plane after flight attendant refuses to go on date

65-year-old’s threat led to evacuation of 130 passengers and five crew

The hoax meant 130 peope were evacuated from their flight, along with five crew members (Getty)

A man has confessed in court to calling in a false bomb threat because a flight attendant on board would not agree to go on a date with him.

The 65-year-old Serbian man, who has not publicly revealed his name, revealed he asked two Lufthansa flight attendants to go to dinner with him but they had declined.

He said he particularly liked one of the women and when he could not find her at her hotel he decided to call in the bomb threat to keep her from leaving.

As a result of his call, 130 passengers and five crew were evacuated from flight LH 1411, which had been due to fly from Belgrade to Frankfurt at around 6am local time (5:15 BST) on Thursday.

The plane was removed from the runway and searched by a specialist police squad, causing an eight-hour delay for the flight’s passengers.

Following the hoax call, Serbia’s interior ministry said in a statement: “This morning at 6am an unknown person called and reported there was a bomb on the plane bound for Frankfurt.

“The police are investigating whether it is a false alarm and are also working to identify the person who called.”

Officers were able to trace the call and arrest the perpetrator the following day.

A spokesman for the prosecution said he was being held in custody pending charges of causing panic and disorder.