Suspicious WiFi hotspot name scares passengers off Qantas flight

A Qantas flight in Australia was delayed for three hours due to an alarming Wi-Fi hotspot name "Mobile Detonation Device" which was discovered by an onboard passenger who alerted the crew. The pilot on the flight from Melbourne to Perth announced that the plane would not take off until the device was located.

Passenger John Vidler told Yahoo News: "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. It wasn't clear what mobile device it was linked to or where the device was located.

"After half an hour no one came forward, the Wi-Fi covered a fair distance so could've been someone in the terminal, " an anonymous source tells Yahoo7.

Some passengers were so frightened they got off the plane. According to the West Australian, up to 40 people refused to take flight, causing further delays due to luggage retrieval and unloading.

Qantas said there had been no security risk to the plane, which landed safely in Perth at 11.15pm – about two hours behind schedule. "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 had confirmed.

This is not the first time a Wi-Fi name has caused a security scare. In 2014, an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London was delayed for 17 hours because one passenger changed the name of their portable Wi-Fi hotspot to 'Al-Quida Free Terror Network.' Another Wi-Fi network with the name 'Allah ackbar, kill the infidels' caused a shopping mall to shut down in British Columbia in Canada, when the hotspot popped up on people's electronic devices on 11 September.