An airline passenger could face a $120,000 bill after fighter jets were scrambled when he joked about blowing up the plane

Even if this was a real terrorist, this is the worst move security services could've done.

They could bar a suspected terrorist from entering the plane via a temporary arrest. If they're wrong, just reimburse the travel costs. If correct, you didn't let a terrorist possibly hijack a plane.

They could use the "randomly selected for a search" card as an excuse for detailed screening. A terrorist can't blow up a plane without some sort of smuggled troublesome equipment anyway. If they're wrong, you spent like 10 minutes searching a random dude. At least you didn't gave a terrorist chance to hijack a plane.

They instead let a suspected terrorist enter the plane as usual; then tailed him with fighter jets. What the actual fuck was the plan if the suspected person was a terrorist? Blow up the fucking plane so all the civilians inside die?

Imagine the call done to the authorities

"This is airport, we've detected a suspicious individual that could be affiliated with a terrorist organization"

"Since you detected him, I assume you've detained him? We'll be sending units"

"Umm... no? Just let him board the plane"

"YOU WHAT?"

Yeah why the fuck were they spying on some 18 year old kid's snapchat?

Also what's the goal of scrambling jets when the threat is a passenger inside said jet? Are they gonna ask the pilot to pipe the radio to the PA and say "you better not blow up that plane because we're in charge and we said so?" Do they have a sniper on the wing ready to take out just one guy meanwhile depressurizing the whole fuselage, potentially explosively? Maybe Top Gun Tom Cruise can hit the guy with a burst of the 20mm? Seems like there's no point whatsoever. Best case they can say "yep it blew up" or "nope it didn't blow up."

Is anyone stupid enough to think that Snapchat is private? Honest question. It's still a social media platform.

Yeah I would personally tell them to eat shit.

The kid didn’t say this publicly

I'm not sure what this changes. Do actual terrorists make their plans public? IANAT, but I'm pretty sure they discuss and plan their actions privately most of the time.

Besides, look at what he wrote:

"On my way to blow up the plane (I'm a member of the Taliban)."

If he somehow didn't expect that line of text to get his Snapchat auto-watchlisted, then he's even dumber than originally thought.

Bomb threats can be used to get control of the plane and then fly it into stuff. The fighter jet is there to bring down the plane if it seems like they’re trying to 9/11 it.

I think it's more the plane could have gone into a built up area.

Seriously think a little bigger. Why are people commenting this?

So if a terrorist makes a private chat, they're immune?

“Before departing”- I think he was on the plane when he made the Snapchat comment, but the article is not clear.

It’s possible he was overheard and some stranger who didn’t- and couldn’t- know it was a joke reported him.

edit, from another article:

He admitted to sending a picture with his 'bomb joke' and Taliban comment from a check-in desk at Gatwick Airport, which experts who analysed his phone told the court was shared in a Snapchat group with six other users at 9.47am the day of his arrest and showed him wearing a hat and sunglasses.

so he was at the airport. making terrorist threats. brilliant.

Edit2: Looking into snapchat's content policy, it seems very probably snapchat was the one that reported him to the authorities. From their Community Guidelines:

These Guidelines apply to all content (which includes all forms of communication, like text, images, generative AI, links or attachments, emojis, Lenses and other creative tools) or behavior on Snapchat — and to all Snapchatters. We are particularly sensitive to content or behavior that poses a risk of severe harm to Snapchatters, and reserve the right to take immediate, permanent action against users engaging in such behavior. Additional guidance about what we consider to be severe harm and how we take action against it is available here.

Taking the link hop to the 'additional guidance':

The safety of Snapchatters is our top priority. We take behavior that threatens the safety of our community very seriously, particularly when the threat of harm is severe. We consider severe harm to include both (1) harms that risk significant damage to the physical or emotional well-being of Snapchatters, and (2) the imminent, credible risk of severe harm, including threats to human life, safety, and well-being. We collaborate with experts, safety groups, and law enforcement on these topics in order to better educate ourselves and our community, and to take appropriate action where these threats may arise on our platform. We consider these types of harms to merit a heightened level of scrutiny, as well as swift, strict, and permanent consequences for violators.

When we identify Snapchatters engaging in any of the following activities, we immediately disable their accounts and, in some instances, refer the conduct to law enforcement:

• Activity that involves sexual exploitation or abuse, including sharing child sexual exploitation or abuse imagery, grooming, child or adult sex trafficking, or sexual extortion (sextortion)
• Attempted selling, exchanging, or facilitating sales of dangerous and illicit drugs
• Credible, imminent threats to human life, safety, or well-being, which may include violent extremism or terrorism-related activities, human trafficking, specific threats of violence (such as a bomb threat), or other serious criminal activities

In addition to enforcing stricter consequences for these violations, our internal teams are continually working with experts to better understand how we can detect and limit threats, prevent harm, and stay informed of potentially harmful trends. Our work on this topic is never finished and it will continue to evolve with the needs of our community. We invite you to report a safety concern, visit our Safety Center, or learn more about our efforts to address harmful content and promote wellness.

Emphasis is mine.

a private joke?

The harsh consequences of being in a police state