An illustration of a Latam airlines plane flying in the air. (Screen capture/YouTube)
An Israeli citizen was detained by police Wednesday afternoon at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota, Colombia, after reportedly joking about triggering a bomb if his delayed flight did not depart immediately.
Joseph Bronfen had boarded Latam Airlines flight 3134, which was scheduled to leave Bogota at 3:48 p.m. and land in Barranquilla less than an hour and a half later.
However, the plane remained at the gate for over three hours due to technical issues, agitating Bronfen and the other passengers on board.
According to witnesses, Bronfen began “clowning around,” amusing many of the passengers by dancing in the aisle. But after the plane had finished refueling and everyone had sat back down, the Israeli began to shout about having an explosive device in his backpack, according to Colombian media reports.
A Latam Airlines 787 plane lands in Auckland Airport in Auckland, New Zealand. (Screen capture/YouTube)
Flight attendants immediately alerted police, who boarded the plane and removed Bronfen shortly thereafter.
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His luggage was then inspected by security authorities along with the baggage of the rest of the plane’s passengers.
Colombian immigration authorities were expected to deport the Israeli passenger, having found no evidence of a bomb in his possession, according to the reports.
The flight eventually took off at 10:50 p.m.– over seven hours after its scheduled departure.
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