Berlin: Security officials at airports have little tolerance for passengers joking about "bombs" in their luggage and airlines can refuse to take such travellers on board, legal experts have pointed out.
Even if a person can prove that it was "just a joke", every airline can refuse to transport a passenger, if it is under the impression that the person endangers flight security, says Sabine Fischer, a German expert on travel law.
"It suffices for control staff to be suspicious," she pointed out. In such an event, the air ticket becomes invalid and the passenger has to pay for travel by train or taxi. An airline can also file a legal suit against the passenger.
In principle, a passenger can file a damages suit and it is then up to a court of law to evaluate whether security has been endangered by the behaviour of the passenger, Fischer says.
Following the recent terror warnings at London's Heathrow Airport security officials generally are more sensitive and can easily feel provoked, the expert points out.
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