A traveller from Sydney sparked a security alert at Hamilton International Airport this morning, after making a joke about having a bomb in his luggage.
The 44-year-old Australian man faces three charges of breaching the Aviation Act.
The alarm was raised shortly before 8am, when Aviation Security staff called the police saying a man had told them there was a ticking bomb in one of his bags, Acting Senior Sergeant Ricky Thompson said.
"He'd arrived on a trans-Tasman flight early this morning and was waiting in the terminal with the intent of arranging further transport and wandered off, leaving his bags unattended," Mr Thompson said.
"Returning to the upstairs lounge he found Av-Sec staff with his bags who cautioned him about leaving his luggage unattended in an airport to which he responded that one of his bags contained a bomb and could they not hear it ticking?"
When he realised no one was laughing at his joke, the man told security officers he was not serious.
Nothing suspicious was found when the man’s bags were searched, however a Swiss Army knife was recovered.
The man was arrested.
It is hoped the man’s arrest would serve as a timely reminder of how serious security around airports was taken, Mr Thompson said.
“It’s not something we take lightly and anyone contemplating similar behaviour would be best advised to keep their ‘jokes’ to themselves.”
3 News