Vietnam Airlines, the country's national flag carrier, had to delay a flight on Sunday, after a passenger told a flight attendant that he had the explosives in his luggage, according to sources from the airlines on Monday.

Before the flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City taking off, Lam Tan Ngan, 38, and his two friends told the attendant that the luggage contains grenades while she was closing the overhead locker on the plane.

Vietnam Airlines had to delay the flight, and evacuated all of nearly 300 passengers on the plane to check it, but no grenades were found.

This is the third such incident so far this year, the airlines said, adding that the country is mapping out a decree that would impose a fine up to 50 million Vietnamese dong (US$3,144) to those who make bomb hoaxes on aircraft.  

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2006)