Malappuram (Kerala) | A man was arrested for allegedly issuing a fake bomb threat to an Abu Dhabi-bound Air Arabia flight from Karipur international airport in this district, police said on Wednesday.

The accused was identified as Mohammed Ijas (26) from neighbouring Palakkad district.

According to Karipur police, the airport director, on Tuesday evening, received an email from Ijas claiming that a bomb was planted on the Air Arabia flight flying from Kozhikode to Abu Dhabi.

Based on the complaint from airport authorities, the police launched an immediate investigation to identify the source of the threat and finally zeroed in on Ijas with the support of cyber police.

"We immediately took him into custody from the airport. Actually, he was about to fly in the same flight to Dubai. He confessed to the crime and said his only intention was to cancel the flight," a police officer said.

Ijas has some financial issues and he does not want to go to Dubai, he said.

"He had to book the flight tickets under the pressure of his friends. He wanted to cancel the journey and that's why he sent a fake bomb threat.. that's what the accused claimed," the officer added.

Relevant Sections of the Civil Aviation Act, the BNS and the Kerala Police Act were invoked against the accused.

He was remanded by a local court here on Wednesday, police added.