The man, who was heavily intoxicated at the time, told Arlanda airport officials last July that the SAS flight to Malta that he was due to board was carrying a bomb.

The plane, which was in the midst of preparations for take off, aborted its procedure and returned to the terminal building.

All the passengers were escorted off the aircraft and boarded a new flight leaving two hours later. The aircraft was searched and no trace of a bomb was found.

The man was subsequently arrested and was on Friday convicted for false alarm.

According to the district court it had been established that the man’s intention was to stop the flight, according to a report by the Gefle Dagblad daily.

Despite the cautious approach, security staff remained sceptical throughout the incident that there was in fact any danger to passengers or the aircraft.

“He was never on the flight so it was impossible for him to have put bomb on the plane himself,” said Kennet Knuts, the Station Commander of Arlanda Border Police to The Local at the time.

TT/The Local/pvs

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