Aftershave Confused for Hand Grenade at Edinburgh Airport

Airport security staff encountered a scare when they mistook a passenger's aftershave for a hand grenade.

25-year old Jimmy Ho was on his way home to London, when the incident occurred at Edinburgh airport on Saturday evening. He had been spending a few weeks with friends in the Scottish capital before flying back to Heathrow.

An Edinburgh Airport spokesperson said in a statement given to Airport International: "We apologise for any inconvenience caused to the passenger. However the security and safety of our passengers is our number one priority, and we are satisfied that our security staff followed correct procedure."

Mr Ho from Ipswich, Suffolk, felt panic-stricken when the security scanner picked up the alarming shape of Spicebomb aftershave in his hand luggage.

Hand Grenade Aftershave Bottle

He felt confused when his luggage wasn't returned to him after going through the scanning machine. "I noticed that everyone was looking at me really strangely, and I had absolutely no idea what was going on," he said.

"I was waiting quite a while before anyone actually said anything and then they asked me why I had a hand grenade in my luggage and I was totally shocked."

Mr Ho hadn't understood what the staff were referring to, before realizing it was his fragrance. "The next thing I know I am surrounded by police and I just felt really panicked. I didn't really know what to do - you don't think anything like this will ever happen to you."

Airport staff took the suspicious item away for rigorous testing, while officials questioned Mr Ho, asking if the bottle contained dangerous substances. Mr Ho said: "They went and checked it all out for about 30 minutes so during that time I didn't know what to think.

Edinburgh Airport Aftershave Bottle

"I guess at the end of the day it is an airport and it's a good thing that they do all these checks. Thinking back now I guess it was really silly and I think the design of the bottom is really bad considering."

The Spicebomb is a fragrance by Viktor & Rolf, and Fabian Baron designed the bottle. Baron had intended for the aesthetics to resemble a hand grenade, to illustrate the "explosive" scent of the fragrance.

After the initial delay, the flagged aftershave was determined safe and Mr Ho was released to board his flight 45 minutes later.

Image copyright Kim Traynor Courtesy Wikimedia Commons