A Serbian man has confessed to calling in a fake bomb threat to Belgrade airport because he was hoping for a date with the air hostess, local media reported Saturday.

The 65-year-old man told a Belgrade court that he had met a Lufthansa flight attendant and wanted to date her.

On Wednesday, having failed to find her in her hotel, he called the Nikola Tesla airport and reported that a bomb had been placed in a Lufthansa plane. The idea, he said, was to keep her in town.

The 130 passengers and five crew members had to be evacuated and wait for hours before the plane was cleared to leave.

The court ordered the man held in custody for 30 days and he will be charged with causing panic and unrest.

AFP