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Vengeful ex behind bomb hoax: report

The source of a hoax bomb threat to Canadian police which forced a Pakistan-bound plane to make an emergency landing at Stockholm Arlanda Airport at the weekend, was an angry ex-girlfriend, according to a Swedish media report.

Vengeful ex behind bomb hoax: report

A 28-year-old Canadian man was briefly arrested in connection with the allegations but then released without charge after no explosives were found aboard the plane, flying from Toronto to Karachi.

The cleared suspect was going to Pakistan to get married and his ex had called Canadian police warning he was carrying explosives because she was unhappy with their separation, tabloid Aftonbladet wrote.

“From what I understood, an ex came forward with the claim in connection with their separation. It was surely not a happy one,” Stockholm police officer Håkan Westing, who could not be reached for comment Monday, told Aftonbladet.

“She had an evil eye on him,” he said, adding that according to the cleared suspect’s written statement he was going to get married in Pakistan.

Stockholm police spokesperson Kjell Lindgren told AFP Monday the man was travelling to Pakistan “for personal reasons,” but could not confirm he was going to get married or that an angry ex had tipped off Canadian authorities.

“It’s a theory,” was all he would say.

Lindgren said the man, who was detained but then released without charge after his plane had already left for Pakistan, was expected to leave Sweden Monday.

Media had reported earlier Monday the man was blocked from leaving Sweden because no airlines would take him onboard.

“That’s not true,” Lindgren said. “I think its a misunderstanding. There was no place, is the information I got. It just didn’t work out with the flights.”

Lindgren said there were no direct flights from Sweden to Pakistan but that Swedish authorities would continue to help the man as quickly as possible.

Canadian police has said they are looking into whether the bomb alert they received was a “terrorist hoax.”

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EXPLAINED: What can I do if I miss my flight due to Sweden’s airport chaos?

Stockholm Arlanda Airport is once again suffering hour-long queues for security due to a surge in travel and personnel shortages. What can you do if you miss your flight?

EXPLAINED: What can I do if I miss my flight due to Sweden's airport chaos?

What’s the situation at Arlanda over the Ascension Day weekend? 

According to the airport operator Svedavia, the worst peak for the long weekend is probably over. “Today looks good with no long waiting time at Arlanda,” Ellen Laurin, the company’s press officer, told The Local on Friday. “Yesterday morning [Thusday], we had a morning peak before nine in the morning, and the rest of the day was OK.” 

According to Swedavia’s website, waiting times at security were less than five minutes on Friday morning.  

However, she warned that there could once again be big queues on Sunday when those who have travelled to Sweden over the long weekend make their way home. 

“Sunday is a big travel day when people will fly home again. There could be queues at peak times,” she said. “We recommend that passengers have a close contact with their airline for information about their flight. It is important to have extra time at the airport and to be prepared.  

READ ALSO: What’s behind the queues at Arlanda Airport? 

Which airports in other countries have problems? 

Arlanda is not the only airport facing problems due to delays staffing up again after the pandemic. On Friday morning, Twitter users were complaining of two-hour queues at the border control at Heathrow Airport in the UK, while at the UK’s Manchester Airport, passengers were reporting queues for security of up to two hours on Thursday. 

Dublin Airport is also facing regular two-hour queues at security. Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport had a 1km security queue on Thursday, pushing the Dutch airline KLM to cancel flights. 

Can I get compensation or insurance payments if I missed my flight due to the queues? 

The SAS airline has already underlined that it is their customers’ responsibility to make sure that they arrive at the airport in sufficiently good time to make their flight. 

“To be certain you can come with us, you should be in good time, and if you are in good time, you will manage to get your flight,” she told state broadcaster SR. “It is always the customer’s responsibility to be on your way as early as is necessary.”

People who miss flights are also likely to struggle to get payouts from travel insurance, warned Gabriella Hallberg, an expert on travel insurance at the Swedish Consumers’ Insurance Bureau. 

“If you’re at the airport and are hit by security controls that take a very long time, they consider that it is the consumer themselves who have not planned their journey,” she told SR

She said that it might be possible to find an insurance company that is willing to insure against flights missed due to security queues. 

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