An EasyJet passenger who was late for his flight thought it was a good idea to phone in a bomb threat for his flight in the hopes of delaying it just a little bit to catch his connection, a bad mistake as it shows.
The situation didn’t go according to plan and the individual was just sentenced by a British court to 16 months in jail and received a lifetime ban for Gatwick Airport.
One could say that this attempt to catch a flight escalated quickly as all passengers that had already checked in needed to be screened by security once again and the flight incurred a substantial delay.
As The Telegraph reported, the defendant won’t be taking another trip anytime soon.
Rashidul Islam, 32, called police 45 minutes before his easyJet flight to Marrakesh from Gatwick was due to take off after his train was cancelled and his taxi became stuck in traffic on May 4 last year.
His hoax call caused the flight to be evacuated and all 147 passengers had to be rechecked by security. This cost the airline an estimated £30,000 and resulted in a three-hour delay.
Yesterday he was sentenced to 16 months in jail at Lewes Crown Court after pleading guilty to communicating false information. He was also banned from Gatwick Airport.
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesman said: “Islam anonymously called police 45 minutes before his easyJet booking from Gatwick was due to take off, warning: ‘Someone may have a bomb on the plane, you need to delay the flight’.
“The hoax initially succeeded in giving Islam time to check in but he was arrested at the gate after police traced him as the anonymous caller.” …
Obviously was Mr. Islam not the brightest light bulb in the chandelier, not only was the idea absolutely stupid but it didn’t take authorities all too long to uncover who the suspect is. The roster isn’t all too difficult considering he is the last person to check in and might appear otherwise suspicious.
Conclusion
16 months in jail is a rather low sentence. For sure he’d be incarcerated for much longer would this have happened in the U.S. and many other countries.
The guy ruined the day for a full plane of passengers, created gigantic expenses and is overall an idiot. Too bad the British courts are so lenient. From now on he’ll have to fly ex Heathrow since he received a lifetime ban from Gatwick (not a big punishment).
