'Al-Quida' Wi-Fi Network Spotted on Plane Delays Los Angeles to London Flight

An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London was delayed after a passenger discovered an active Wi-Fi network available on board called "Al-Quida Free Terror Nettwork".

The passenger brought the unusual network name to the attention of one of the crew of the flight and as a result the plane was turned around while heading to the runway and brought back to the gate.

According to a report from ABC 7, passengers were detained on board Flight 136 for three hours, and were initially told it was some sort of maintenance issue. The flight was initially scheduled to take off at 8pm on Sunday, but was delayed until 1pm on Monday.

American Airlines responded to one passenger on Twitter saying:

"We're sorry for the inconvenience. A customer reported a concern. We're delaying the flight out of an abundance of caution."

The police have been made aware of the incident and the airline says it is continuing to assess the situation.

Some of the passengers who were forced to stay in Los Angeles for an extra night, vented their anger on Twitter, including Anthony Simon who is head of digital at UK Government Communications:

The use of smartphones and wireless communication on flights has been freed up in recent months, with many airlines now allowing passengers use their devices for the entirety of a flight.

Users can set up personal hotspots to share their smartphone's cellular connection, and in doing so can name the wireless network whatever they want, which is likely what happened in this case.