MANILA, Philippines — A bomb joke by an elderly woman delayed the flight of a plane that had several congressmen and members of the media who covered the Bagong Pilipinas Fair in Tacloban City on Friday.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the incident happened at about 6:30 p.m. when the unidentified elderly woman who was a passenger of Philippine Airlines flight, PR2988, along with 71 lawmakers of the House of Representatives, bound for Manila told the crew helping her with her luggage that it was heavy because it contained a bomb.

The plane was emptied immediately as a security group inspected the aircraft.

The "prankster" was placed under the custody of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group.