Bacolod-Silay Airport —File photo from its Facebook page
BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — No charges will be filed against the two passengers who were talking about a “watusi” — a type of firecracker — inside an airplane at the Bacolod-Silay Airport on Saturday morning, October 19.
Major Deejay Domingo of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group which responded in the area said the two male passengers did not violate the bomb joke law.
“We had no reason to file a case as they were just talking among themselves. They did not make a bomb joke or issue a threat,” he said in an interview on Monday.
“They were just overheard talking. They were apparently just misinterpreted by the airline,” he added.
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A Bacolod-Manila flight was delayed for almost two hours because of a misinterpretation of an LGBT conversation inside the plane.
In a report, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said two male passengers inside Cebu Pacific Flight 5J486 at approximately 11:10 a.m. last October 19.
During the conversation between the two, one said in Filipino: “Hey, did you run out of watusi.”
In this case, he was referring to a condom, which is watusi in the LGBTQ community language.
A cabin crew member, who was nearby fixing overhead luggage, overheard the conversation.
Concerned about the potential reference to a firecracker, she approached the passenger to clarify the meaning of watusi.
The passenger explained to the cabin crew member that he was referring to a condom and apologized if his words were inappropriate.
The cabin crew member immediately reported the matter to the pilot who then informed the Cebu Pacific management.
As a precaution, the airline made the decision to deplane all passengers and cargo for a K9 bomb-sniffing inspection and security paneling.
Based on the investigation, the two passengers were from Biñan in Laguna and visited Bacolod to watch the activities in line with the famous MassKara Festival.