Man convicted for airport Twitter threat

Trainee accountant, Paul Chambers, 26, has been fined £1,000 for a Twitter message threatening to blow up an airport.

The tweet was sent to Chambers’ 600 followers in January, when his flight from Doncaster to Ireland was cancelled due to snow. Frustrated, he wrote:

“Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!”

Chambers says he did not realise that his Twitter feed could be seen by people who weren’t following him. An off-duty airport manager spotted it and told security, who subsequently passed it to the police, even though it was considered ‘non-credible’.

In sentencing, the judge said that the comment was “of a menacing nature in the context of the times we live in” and fined Chambers £1,000. Chambers’ defence had argued that in the context of Twitter, this was not in any way a threat. However airports are obliged to consider all threats, regardless of what the person’s intentions may have been. An appeal is planned.