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A British teenager has issued a heartfelt apology for the “moment of madness” which led him to joke that he had placed an explosive device on an easyJet flight headed from London to Menorca on July 3.

 

18-year-old Aditya Verma was heading on holiday with a group of pals when he sent a message via Snapchap reading: “I’m going to blow this plane up. I’m Taliban.”

 

Although the teenager meant it as a joke, the sensitive nature of the text was picked up by monitors of Gatwick’s Wi-Fi and French and Spanish authorities were immediately alerted to the possible threat. Two F18 fighter jets were then dispatched to accompany the plane safely to Menorca where it was searched for explosives.

 

“It was a moment of madness which I regret and I’m so sorry for the trouble I caused. It was a joke, and I didn’t mean anything by it,” Mr Verma told the press once he had returned to the UK.

 

“I’m sorry for ruining my friends’ holiday but it was all just a joke, and I didn’t mean to scare anyone on the plane if they were frightened by what happened,” he added.

 

The Brit was on a trip to Spain with a few fellow six formers from the exclusive St Olave’s grammar school when he sent the bomb threat, and was arrested as soon as the plane touched down in Menorca. The other passengers were evacuated while sniffer dogs and technicians examined the aircraft.

 

“When I heard there was a fighter jet escorting us I just immediately had the feeling it was something to do with the message I had sent, I could tell I had made a big mistake,” the young man said.

 

“I just felt this overwhelming sense of dread and when we landed and were allowed to get off the police went straight for me and my friends, they obviously knew who to look for.”

 

Mr Verma was released from custody when his parents posted the 10,000 euros bail and was eventually allowed to return to his Orpington, Kent, home – ironically on the flight he would have taken as part of his holiday.

 

Authorities in Spain have yet to decide whether they will press ahead with charges, where the teen would face conviction along with having to pay nearly 100,000 euros to cover the cost of the fighter jets, or hand the case over to the UK.

 

Image: Guardia Civil