Italian Police Say Traveler Called in Bomb Threat to Delay His Flight

MILAN, Italy – Verona airport police say a German traveler running late called in a prank bomb scare to delay his flight.

Verona Airport police Chief Andrea Rasi says police received an emergency call around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday saying there was a bomb on board a Vienna-bound Air Dolomiti flight that was scheduled to leave five minutes later. Authorities closed the airport and rerouted two in-bound flights to nearby Brescia.

Rasi says the 27-year-old German suspect was identified by tracing the call to his cell phone. He is under investigation for allegedly causing an alarm, a charge that carries a sentence of six months to a year.