Panic Spreads as Alarming Message Grounds American Airlines Flight [WATCH]

An American Airlines flight was thrown into chaos in Texas after a passenger’s ill-advised prank forced an evacuation and a nearly five-hour delay. The culprit? A Wi-Fi hotspot named, “There is a bomb on the flight,” as reported by The New York Post.

The fiasco unfolded on American Airlines Flight 286, which was scheduled to depart Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for Charlotte, North Carolina, last Friday.

A concerned passenger alerted a flight attendant about the disturbing Wi-Fi name, triggering an immediate response from the crew, according to ABC News.

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Initially, the pilot attempted to downplay the situation, attributing the delay to an “administrative issue.” But as tensions mounted, the truth came out.

“Somebody renamed their hotspot to ‘there is a bomb on the flight,’” passenger Bruce Steen, 63, recounted. That’s when law enforcement got involved.

Austin police officers boarded the aircraft, urging the responsible party to step forward. One lieutenant even offered a way out, saying,

“If this is a joke, please raise your hand now, because we can deal with the practical joke differently than if this if we have to do a full-blown investigation of what’s going on here..”

But, predictably, no one fessed up.

With no voluntary confessions, authorities had no choice but to take drastic measures. Every single passenger was removed from the plane and forced to show law enforcement their device’s hotspot name.

The group was then held in a secured area and rescreened by airport security. Meanwhile, checked baggage was pulled from the plane and subjected to additional bomb-sniffing inspections, ABC News reported.

After hours of uncertainty, the plane finally got the all-clear and was allowed to depart at 6:15 p.m.—more than four-and-a-half hours behind schedule.

A spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration emphasized that they, along with their transportation partners, “take bomb threats very seriously.”

Fortunately, the prank didn’t cause broader disruptions to the airport’s operations, but it did leave passengers frustrated and angry over a so-called “joke” that wasted time and resources.

While some may laugh off these stunts, this incident serves as yet another example of the modern-day security headaches travelers have to endure—all thanks to one person’s reckless decision.