Husband causes security alert with prank text

An Italian tourist aboard a flight from Sydney to Vienna caused a security alert when he sent a prank text message to his wife claiming his plane had been hijacked by terrorists.

Antonio Casale, 35, sent the message to his wife from Kuala Lumpur during a refuelling stop on the Lauda Austrian Airlines flight, Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

His distressed wife contacted Italian police, who immediately alerted the Italian Embassy in Canberra, who relayed the message to Australian Federal Police. Casale, who was detained by police at Vienna, was questioned and later released without charge.