A Wi-Fi hotspot from a smartphone belonging to a passenger on Qantas plane caused panic which delayed the flight of 40 passengers as the pilot refused to take off.
The hotspot name was titled ‘Mobile Detonation Device’.
The username popped up on a woman’s Wi-Fi menu just a moment before the flight was scheduled to take off from Melbourne to Perth on Saturday, reports say.
Flight QF481 was about to take off at 6.50pm but had to be delayed for several hours after the female passenger notified airline crew of her find. Immediately the management was called to action, security measures were fast implemented what could have turned out to be a possible terror attack.
According to the report, the pilot announced to the passengers on-board that the unavoidable delays were due to a ‘device’ on the plane which needed to be located.
In his explanations, he said that there was a phone that had a name on it that was found threatening and for this reason, the flight would not take off until the owner hands in the device.
For more than thirty minutes, no one came forward to tender the phone.
The report said an anonymous passenger confirmed that: ‘After half an hour no one came forward, the Wi-Fi covered a fair distance so could’ve been someone in the terminal.’
Finally, Qantas airline gave all passengers the option to get off that flight and book an alternate flight with the airline. All 40 people agreed to do so for their safety.