Terrifying Wi-Fi hotspot name causes chaos on Qantas plane
A Qantas flight in Australia was delayed for more than two hours due to a concerning Wi-Fi hotspot name.
According to The West Australian, a passenger on QF481 spotted a Wi-Fi hotspot titled "Mobile Detonation Device" and advised a crew member. It wasn't clear what mobile device it was linked to or where the device was located.
You May Also Like
The crew member informed the captain, who then broadcast a message to passengers. Passenger John Vidler told the publication the pilot said the device needed to be located before the flight could depart.
"He said there was a device on the plane that had a name on it that he found threatening and that we were not leaving until that device was brought to him," Vidler said.
Another passenger, who remained anonymous, told Yahoo!7 the incident was connected to a hotspot that came up in the in-flight entertainment system.
"The pilot said a particular passenger had gone to log on and a hotspot name has come up with one which was a scare to Qantas and passengers," he said. "After half an hour no one came forward, the Wi-Fi covered a fair distance so could've been someone in the terminal."
The 6:50 p.m. flight was on the tarmac in Melbourne when the incident occurred. It was eventually cleared by security for flight and departed for Perth at 9:55 p.m. local time. It landed safely in Perth at 11:15 p.m. Perth time.
Qantas confirmed an incident took place on the flight, and advised the plane was eventually cleared for flying. "A passenger raised a concern during boarding which was looked into by our crew and security team. They found no safety or security risk to the aircraft," a Qantas spokesperson told Mashable Australia via email.
Some passengers were uneasy after hearing the announcement and decided to disembark the aircraft. Qantas reportedly was happy to cater to these passengers. As they had luggage on board, this added to the delay.
"Some passengers elected not to travel so there was a delay as bags were taken off and those passengers disembarked," the Qantas spokesperson advised.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Jenni Ryall is Mashable's VP of Content Strategy. She spends her time launching cool, new things such as Mashable Deals and Mashable Reels. On the other days, she is developing strong partnerships with companies including Apple News, Flipboard, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit.
