Stop Joking About Airport Bombs!

Current Events
Prior to boarding a recent Avianca Airlines flight from Miami to Bogota, Colombia, 60-year-old Dr. Manuel Alvarado of Venezuela was routinely asked if he was carrying anything flammable, explosive, etc. with him.  Somehow having convinced himself it would be hilarious to give the unexpected response, Alvarado jokingly told TSA officials at Miami International Airport that he was indeed transporting C-4 explosives in his carry on bag.  Ha ha ha, right?  WRONG!

Dr. Manuel Alvarado

Even though Alvarado tried to convince officials he was only joking, the damage was already done and the TSA was forced to take his words seriously.  Failing to find even an ounce of humor in his admission, TSA reps immediately evacuated the airport, delayed flights and brought a bomb squad in.

Not only did Alvarado’s little joke snarl traffic at one of the nation’s busiest airports, but it turned out to be quite an expensive moment of fun for him. Alvarado was fined $89,172 in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges of making a false bomb threat and criminal mischief.  He is currently being held in the U.S. and is not allowed to travel until his fine is paid in full.

“It was a momentary lapse of reason in making these statements,” his attorney, Brian Bieber said. “He is extremely remorseful. He had no intent to place anyone in fear. He made what turned out to be the worst mistake of his life.”

Current Events
Sadly, Alvarado is not alone among those who believe airport jokes of terrorism are funny.   For example, a man on a plane at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines was arrested last month for joking to a flight attendant that he couldn’t place his bag in the overhead bin because he was carrying explosives.

“There is never an excuse for that kind of joke,” business travel expert Joe Brancatelli said. “Even 13 years on from 9/11, there simply is no reason to try to mine that vein of humor. Security personnel have no stomach for it, they are trained to overreact and assume there is evil intent. And, most importantly, no one finds this stuff funny.”

So, word to the wise:  unless you want to screw up an entire airport, get kicked off your flight and be fined thousands of dollars or even jailed, STOP JOKING ABOUT BOMBS AT THE AIRPORT!