Wealthy private school boy allegedly makes bomb threat on a plane

By MAX ALDRED FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 10:25 BST, 8 May 2025 | Updated: 10:25 BST, 8 May 2025

A private student has been hauled off a Virgin plane after he allegedly made a bomb threat in a ‘spur-of-the-moment’ comment in front of his peers.

The ninth-grade student boarded the plane at Melbourne Airport last Wednesday on a trip with other Mentone Grammar students.

On the plane, he made a ‘threatening remark’, allegedly similar to a bomb threat, which concerned flight staff.

Cabin crews approached Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers, who arrived at the departure gate to escort the young boy from the plane.

An AFP spokeswoman confirmed officers had investigated the incident.

‘The AFP responded to a request for assistance from airline staff at Melbourne Airport on Wednesday, April 30, after a passenger allegedly made threatening remarks to crew members after boarding a domestic flight,’ she said.

AFP officers at Melbourne Airport attended the gate and escorted the passenger from the aircraft.

Investigations determined there was no threat to public safety.

A Melbourne schoolboy from Mentone Grammar was hauled from a plane after allegedly making a ‘threatening’ comment

An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman said no arrests were made in relation to the alleged incident on the Virgin plane

The spokeswoman confirmed no-one was arrested in relation to the incident despite it being a criminal offence to make threats.

Mentone Grammar principal Andy Muller defended the incident but said the boy could not rejoin his classmates on the plane.

‘Who among us has not done something in the spur of the moment when we were 14 or 15,’ he told the Herald Sun.

‘The student is remorseful and understood immediately that there are consequences for (such actions).’

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman said: ‘Safety is our top priority and at the core of everything we do.’

The class had been embarking on an ‘interstate immersion program’ at the time.

Students in the program could go to Cape York, Sunshine Coast or Cairns in Queensland, Darwin, Kununurra, the Coral Coast in Western Australia or South Australia’s Kangaroo Island.

The trips allowed students to have ‘unique experiences’ with a ‘focus on service in the community they are visiting’.

Menton Grammar charges $36,207 per year for tuition for year nine students and was contacted for comment. 

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Wealthy private school boy allegedly makes bomb threat on a plane

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