Spanish court acquits British-Indian man who threatened to blow up plane

A British-Indian man named Aditya Verma has been acquitted by a Spanish court on charges of public disorder, linked to a joke he made about being a Taliban member and planning to blow up a flight from London's Gatwick to Menorca in Spain in 2022.

Verma had made this comment in a private Snapchat group, asserting he never intended to cause public distress. A judge in Madrid ruled there was no evidence to suggest it was a real threat.

The message was picked up by UK security services and flagged to Spanish authorities, resulting in two Spanish F-18 fighter jets being sent to flank the aircraft. Verma was arrested upon landing and held for two days before being released on bail.

The method through which the message was intercepted remains unclear, with a theory suggesting it could have been via Gatwick's Wi-Fi network, though the airport denies this capability.

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