An individual from Spain, accused of initiating a false bomb threat on a SATA Azores Airlines plane, leading to an emergency landing in Lisbon on Saturday, allegedly intended it as a “prank on a fellow traveler”.
“The evidence strongly suggests that, in a reckless act, the defendant wanted to play a prank on a travel companion by claiming there was a bomb on board the aircraft. However, it was a false alarm taken seriously by the plane’s captain, necessitating a diversion of the flight and an emergency landing at Lisbon airport,” detailed the Public Prosecution Service in a statement released on Monday.
The statement further noted that the individual boarded at Ponta Delgada Airport with a friend, on a flight bound for Spain, on July 26.
The Spanish national was detained on Saturday and, according to a source from the Judiciary Police, is now prohibited from entering national airports, “due to the potential for public alarm resulting from his actions.”
The bomb threat on a SATA Azores Airlines plane that required an emergency landing in Lisbon was a “false alarm,” according to the Azorean company.
On the same day, SATA Azores Airlines announced that the bomb threat, which led to the diversion of flight S4 504, operating between Ponta Delgada and Bilbao, “was not validated by competent authorities following a thorough inspection of the aircraft and luggage.”
The company indicated that “after concluding the inquiries by the competent authorities,” the aircraft was cleared to resume operations, with the Lisbon-Bilbao flight rescheduled for that evening, carrying 111 passengers.
The suspects involved in the incident did not continue their journey, according to SATA Azores Airlines.
The investigation is being led by the Lisbon Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP).
