A LIBRARIAN who made a hoax bomb threat in order to delay a flight he was too late to board has been jailed in London.
Jacob Meir Abdellak, originally from France, made the call eight minutes before his 5.47am Norwegian Air flight from Gatwick to Los Angeles on May 11.
He had become abusive to airline staff after they refused to allow him onboard as the gate had closed.
Passengers had to be re-screened and take-off was delayed by 90 minutes after Abdellak decided to contact police to report a threat to the plane.
An investigation quickly revealed that the hoax call had been made from the same number used to book Abdellak's flight.
The 47-year-old was arrested when he returned to Gatwick for another flight to the United States on May 22.
'Ridiculous decision'
Abdellak, of Amhurst Park, Hackney, London, initially claimed the call could not have been made by him as he had lost his SIM card a few days earlier.
However, on the first day of his trial at Lewes Crown Court he pleaded guilty to communicating false information regarding a noxious substance likely to create serious risk to human health.
The French national was sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Gatwick Police Chief Inspector, Marc Clothier, said: "This was a quite ridiculous decision made by Abdellak, who fabricated an extremely serious allegation purely for his own benefit.
"His actions caused the flight to be delayed, and also caused a level of fear and distress among a number of staff and passengers on board that flight.
"He was running late for his flight and thought it would be a good idea to call in a hoax bomb, however this turned out to be the worst decision he could have made."
