Summary
- A passenger’s joke about having grenades led to a police investigation at Frankfurt Airport.
- The Austrian national still missed their flight.
- The police have begun investigating the event, alleging that the traveler faked a criminal offense.
A passenger who told airport security at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) that he had three hand grenades on his body later defended his statements as a joke. The 37-year-old stated that he had the explosives during a security check, with the police now investigating the incident.
Bad joke become a police investigation
In response to an announcement by the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei, BPOL) stationed at FRA, the 37-year-old Austrian national was traveling from FRA to Graz Airport (GRZ), Austria. During a security check that he deemed was taking too long, he told staff that he had three grenades on his body.
The statement noted that the traveler’s flight to GRZ was about to board, which is why they repeatedly said that they carried the explosives with them. Nevertheless, when security staff called BPOL to take an official statement from the Austrian national, the German law enforcement officials ordered a further check of him and his belongings.
Photo: Karasev Viktor | Shutterstock
BPOL reiterated that the passenger repeatedly told officers that he was only joking, which turned out to be true because the additional checks didn’t reveal any explosive devices on the traveler or of their baggage.
The German police said that the Austrian traveler missed their flight and that BPOL had begun an investigation into the incident, alleging that they faked a criminal offense, noting that such remarks won’t shorten the safety time at an airport.
![Lufthansa Airbus A320 @ Frankfurt Airport](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/shutterstock_2220066219.jpg)
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The safety officials found the joke to be slightly humorless.
Connectivity to Austria
In response to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, there are 82 one-way flights between FRA and GRZ in February 2024. Lufthansa is scheduled to operate 54 of those with either the Airbus A319, A320, or A321, while Air Dolomiti should fly 27 itineraries on the route with the Embraer E195 through the month.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa CityLine should operate its only flight from FRA to GRZ on February 29. The airline is scheduled to make use of its Mitsubishi CRJ900 to fly the 329 nautical miles (610 kilometers) separating the 2 cities. Each Air Dolomiti and Lufthansa CityLine are a part of the Lufthansa Group.
Photo: Lufthansa
Austrian Airlines, the Austrian subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, has no scheduled flights between FRA and GRZ, which is the airport serving the second largest city in Austria. The de facto flag carrier of the country only operates flights to Vienna Airport (VIE) from FRA.
![](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1622464141085.jpg)
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Strikes affecting FRA
FRA has been one in all the airports in Germany that has suffered multiple strikes throughout the past few years, including the problematic summer that the country’s airports had in 2022 when airlines began ramping up capability after the pandemic.
Photo: Fraport AG
Probably the most recent strike in Germany happened in early February when Lufthansa’s ground staff began striking for higher pay conditions. The strikes mainly affected FRA and Munich Airport (MUC), two critical hubs for the German airline. In total, greater than 2,000 flights were canceled on February 7 and February 8, half of which were at FRA and MUC.
![171224_Lufthansa_Flotte_Parken_Xmas_2 16x9](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/171224_lufthansa_flotte_parken_xmas_2-16x9.jpg)
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The strike mainly affected Lufthansa’s operations in Frankfurt and Munich.