TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Tigerair flight from Kaohsiung, Taiwan to Okinawa, Japan was delayed by over an hour after a passenger jokingly told a flight attendant that he was carrying hand grenades in his carry-on luggage.
Flight No. IT-288 was carrying 180 passengers and was almost ready to begin departure procedures at about 9:45 a.m. when a flight attendant asked if a passenger was carrying bottled water in a carry-on bag. The passenger, a 56-year-old man surnamed Shen (沈), responded, “No water, just hand grenades,” reported UDN.
Departure procedures were immediately halted, with passengers forced to deplane, and airline staff required to re-inspect all carry-on luggage. Other passengers were reportedly furious with Shen's behavior, saying that a man Shen’s age should know what can be said on an airplane.
Shen was arrested by airport police and taken for questioning. After the additional security inspection, the other passengers were allowed to board the plane by 11:11 a.m. They safely reached Naha, Okinawa several hours later.
Shen was traveling with family to Okinawa, who reportedly made the trip without him following his arrest at the airport, per UDN.
For his ill attempt at humor, Shen was transferred to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor’s Office and will be charged per the Civil Aviation Act. For the crime of endangering flight safety, violators may be sentenced to up to three years in prison, or fined up to NT$1 million (US$30,460).
In similar news, a 69-year-old Australian man made a similar joke in early July at Dipolong Airport in Mindanao, Philippines, reported the Manila Standard. As the man was going through security to depart the region, he joked that he was carrying an atomic bomb in his suitcase, and is now facing imprisonment.
In another, more serious incident involving airline security and hand grenades, a 41-year-old Japanese man was recently arrested at Hawaii’s Hilo International Airport after two inert hand grenades were found in his carry-on luggage. The terminal had to be completely evacuated and the man was arrested on charges of terroristic threatening, reported AP News.