A 65-year-old man has admitted making a fake bomb threat in the hope of getting a date with a flight attendant.

The Serbian man's telephone call caused Lufthansa's flight LH1411 to be evacuated on Thursday before its take-off from Belgrade to Frankfurt.

All 130 passengers and five crew members had to leave the aircraft while it was searched by a special police squad and sniffer dogs.

The man, who has not been named, had met two flight attendants and invited them for dinner, but they refused.

He confessed to the hoax in court on Saturday, saying he had especially liked one of the women and after he failed to track her down at her hotel, he made a desperate bid to keep her in the country.


The police traced his call after he made the threat and he was arrested a day later.

A spokesman for the prosecutor told Serbian media that the prosecution asked for him to be kept in custody pending charges of causing panic and disorder.

On Thursday, Serbia's interior ministry released a statement about the incident, which said: "This morning at 6am an unknown person called and reported there was a bomb on the plane bound for Frankfurt.

"The police are investigating whether it is a false alarm and are also working to identify the person who called."

Passengers had an eight-hour delay to their journey after the hoax, with some booking alternative flights rather than wait for their plane to leave.