Man arrested for delaying Bordeaux flight with fake bomb alert

French police have arrested a man who called in a fake bomb threat to the regional airport of Bordeaux-Merignac so that his girlfriend would not miss her flight.

Reuters

Prosecutors told news agency AFP on Sunday that the 33-year-old man was arrested 20 kilometres away from Bordeaux after authorities traced the call Thursday.

The man, who was not named, admitted that he called in the alert to delay the flight because his girlfriend was stuck in traffic.

Part of the airport had been immediately sealed off and police and soldiers were deployed to conduct searches.

The man is due to appear in court in Bordeaux and faces up to two years in prison and a 30,000-euro fine.