A Qantas flight in Australia was delayed during the past week after a passenger discovered a scary Wi-Fi hotspot. The hotspot's name "Mobile Detonation Device" was discovered on a flight from Melbourne to Perth. After the passenger informed the on-board crew they alerted the airplane's captain and security, which launched an investigation that resulted in a two-hour delay.

Like Us on Facebook

The problem started when the female passenger tried to connect to the Internet. It is unclear which mobile device had named the region with wireless connectivity or if they were even located on the plane.

The captain announced over the plane's speakers that the flight was delayed because the airline believed a threatening device was on board, according to The West Australian. Security needed some time to locate the device and take it to the plane's captain.

However, security personnel did not find any dangerous device and nobody took responsibility for the WiFi hotspot name. An anonymous source reported that due to the big distance the Wi-Fi covered, the gadget could have been used by someone inside the airport.

A Wi-Fi hotspot is a physical location that provides web connectivity. Internet access is provided through a wireless local area network (WLAN) linked to an Internet service provider (ISP).    

Passenger John Vidler reports that up to 40 passengers were shaken up by the event and decided not to take the flight from the state of Victoria, according to BGR. This caused more delays as the crew members had to unload their luggage from the aircraft.  

It is likely that the Wi-Fi hotspot's name was a joke. However, airlines and airports consider such shenanigans to be a very serious matter, and especially after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Qantas later reported that no security risk to the airplane had been discovered. It landed in Perth around two hours behind schedule.

This is not the first time a Wi-Fi name has caused a security issue. A few years ago an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London took off 17 hours late because a passenger altered the name of their Wi-Fi hotspot to "Al-Qaeda Free Terror Network."

Meanwhile, another red flag Wi-Fi network caused a shopping mall in British Columbia, Canada to shut down. The hotspot showed up on people's mobile devices on September 11.

Here's how to turn a smartphone into a mobile hotspot: