Ever since there have been bombs and airplanes, it hasn’t been a particularly great idea to make jokes about the two together. But especially in times like these when the U.S. and other countries are always on the lookout for potential terrorists, it’s an awful idea to talk about bombs. One man didn’t get the “no bomb jokes” memo, apparently, and ended up shutting down Alaska’s largest airport.

A man traveling through the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport yesterday was nabbed by cops for making comments about a bomb, which he later said were just jokes, reports the Anchorage Daily News. The man and a friend were checking in, when he pointed out that the ticket agent had put his sticker on his friend’s luggage by mistake.

As the bags moved down the conveyor belt to the sorting area, she assured him it was fine because they were both going to the same final destination. That’s when the man made his big mistake.

“But my friend’s bag has a bomb in it,” the agent remembers him saying, according to a charging document. He recounted it to authorities slightly differently, more to the effect of “what if my friend’s bag has a bomb in it?”

It’s not clear if the guy was trying to be flirtatious (as one official surmised) but cops took his words seriously enough to charge him with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. He was jailed at the Anchorage Correctional Complex with a bail of $5,000.

Travelers were probably not too happy that they were forced to go out into the cold, and many missed connections due to the man’s comment.  The airport was reopened about three hours later after authorities made sure there was no actual threat.

As if we need to remind you: No matter how hilarious you think your bomb joke is, no matter how many other people have laughed about it in other settings, it is a ridiculously bad idea to talk about anything explosive at an airport. Never a good move. Never.

Joke or not, comment about bomb lands passenger in jail, closes airport [Anchorage Daily News]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.