Allegiant Air passenger arrested after making false mid-flight bomb threat
A suspect who allegedly made a bomb threat on an Allegiant Air flight over the weekend was arrested Sunday afternoon and charged with false information and threats. Taj Malik Tayor, 27, of Largo, Florida, told another passenger on Allegiant Air flight 1023, headed to Roanoke, Virginia, that his laptop was a bomb, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. The plane had taken off from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) and quickly returned to that airport after the alleged threat.
“The passenger immediately notified the flight attendants,” the sheriff’s office said. “Detectives say several other witnesses on the plane also heard Taylor state that he had a bomb.”
After the plane landed, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office K9s searched Taylor’s belongings, but they did not find a bomb. Taylor was booked just before 11:30 p.m. on Sunday night and was released from custody about 11 hours later on Monday morning. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has taken over the case and provided an arrest affidavit for Taylor.
The affidavit states that Taylor, “knowing the information to be false, willfully and maliciously with reckless disregard for the safety of human life, gave false information about an alleged attempt being made to possess an explosive device.” Taylor told investigators that he made the comments after a passenger was rude to him and mentioned that he was recently released from a mental health facility. He claimed to have taken medication the day before the alleged threat and was “suffering from a lack of clarity.”
Taylor appeared in court on Monday morning, and it is unclear whether he has an attorney. Allegiant Air stated that they do not tolerate disruptive behavior and made the decision to return to the airport, where law enforcement officers took the passenger into custody. As a gesture of goodwill, the airline issued $100 vouchers to each itinerary for future travel.
Fox News Digital reached out to Taylor for comment, but there was no response at the time of publication.
Peter D’Abrosca, the author of this article, joined Fox News Digital in 2025 after working as a politics reporter at The Tennessee Star for four years. He is a graduate of Elon University and grew up in Rhode Island. Follow Peter on X at @pmd_reports and send story tips to peter.dabrosca@fox.com.
