Russian Hockey Player Threatens To Blow Up Plane After Being Denied Alcohol

A Russian hockey player threatened to blow up a plane after he was refused alcohol on a domestic flight, as per a report in Newsweek. Andrei Sidyakin from the Russian Hockey League team Monetka in Yekaterinburg, approached flight attendants and demanded Vodka, however, the situation soon became chaotic after the crew refused to serve him his preferred beverage.

As per Russian newspaper Mash, the 39-year-old "generally behaved defiantly" during the flight and "pestered" the flight attendants to bring him a drink. The staff issued several warnings to the man before he "went for broke." Mr Sidyakin then told the crew that he had an explosive device with him and later tried to open the plane's door. The flight attendants were forced to search for signs of a bomb or weapon throughout the remainder of the flight, which was not diverted.

Further, the aircraft was examined and boarded by police and security personnel from Sheremetyevo Airport upon arrival in Moscow. Mr Sidyakin was not arrested but was informed that he needed to find another route to the Ural and was not permitted to continue his journey.

In a similar incident, a flight from Russia to India in January 2023 was disrupted and delayed for several hours due to a bomb threat made on board. However, the response to the situation was significantly different from the flight carrying the hockey player. A chartered flight from Moscow to Goa with 244 people on board was diverted to Gujarat's Jamnagar, a move which was triggered after the Goa Air traffic controller received a bomb threat.

Nothing suspicious was found on the Moscow-Goa flight and the National Security Guard carried out an extensive search of the plane and the luggage it was carrying. Security forces had cordoned off the Jamnagar airport for nine hours. There were a total of 236 passengers on board the plane along with eight crew members.