Cops: Norwegian man called in bomb threat after missing flight

One Norwegian man allegedly took an explosive approach to ensuring he wouldn't miss his flight Thursday night at Philadelphia International Airport, police said.

That visitor to our city, 30, was arrested after allegedly making two separate phone calls from inside the airport to 9-1-1, both times claiming that he had a bomb, Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan said.

The first call was made about 3:30 p.m., a "general threat" about an explosive at the baggage claim at the airport's Terminal A, Sullivan said. About an hour later, that same man allegedly made a second call, this time demanding that the airport ground all planes operated by British Airways, Sullivan said.

Investigators at the airport, using surveillance footage, were able to determine that the man made the calls from a pay phone inside the airport, and arrested him without incident, according to Sullivan.

His alleged motive? He and his traveling companion had missed their outbound flight to London's Heathrow Airport, and were so desperate to catch their rescheduled flight on British Airways that they took these extreme measures, Sullivan said.

No one was injured in the incident, and the airport's operations were not impacted by the threats, which were unfounded, Sullivan said. The scene was cleared by 6:30 p.m.

The suspect remains in custody, pending his formal arraignment.