Israeli deported, banned from Colombia following bomb ‘joke’ at airport
Joseph Bronfen, 48, put on plane to Tel Aviv after threatening to ‘use a bomb’ in his backpack over a domestic flight delay
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BOGOTA — An Israeli man was deported from Colombia on Friday and banned from setting foot in the country for 10 years after he joked about triggering a bomb over a flight delay earlier this week.
Joseph Bronfen, 48, was placed on a flight back to Tel Aviv on Friday, two days after he was removed by police at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota from a domestic flight which was delayed for several hours over technical issues.
Bronfen had boarded Latam Airlines flight 3134, scheduled to leave Bogota on Wednesday 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.
Flight attendants immediately alerted police, who boarded the plane and removed Bronfen shortly thereafter.
His luggage was then inspected by security authorities along with the baggage of the rest of the plane’s passengers. No explosive devices or objects resembling explosive devices were found.
The flight to Barranquilla eventually took off at 10:50 p.m.– over seven hours after its scheduled departure.
Bronfen had arrived in Colombia from Panana on February 13, according to AFP.
The Times of Israel Community.