Teen a ‘risk to flights’

The Australian teenager who made a threatening comment on an Air New Zealand plane at Auckland Airport has pleaded guilty in court. But his lawyer yesterday said he was still in custody because Air New Zealand won’t allow him back on one of their planes. Two Air New Zealand flights were cancelled and hundreds of passengers stranded after Meke Fifita wrote “I got a bomb” on the plane’s messaging system — as a “joke”. His lawyer, Jane Northwood, said he had pleaded guilty and was utterly remorseful, saying it was a thoughtless, stupid act. But she says the 19-year-old, who was travelling home alone, was still sitting in a cell because airlines regarded him as a risk on board.