Man makes bomb threat at Detroit Metro Airport after missing flight -- what we know

‘Please, don’t let that flight board’

A Spirit Airlines plane had all its passengers deboard at Detroit Metro Airport on June 5, 2025. (WDIV)

ROMULUS, Mich. – A 23-year-old from Monroe County was arrested after allegedly making a bomb threat for a flight he missed to Los Angeles.

It happened Thursday, June 5, at Detroit Metro Airport.

Recommended Videos



Following the threat, the flight to Los Angeles was taken to a secluded area of the airport. All passengers were evacuated while authorities conducted a thorough search of the plane for a possible explosive using bomb-sniffing dogs.

Nothing was found.

Passengers were rescreened, and the aircraft was cleared by authorities.

Monroe resident John Charles Robinson was arrested later that day.

What we know about the bomb threat

According to authorities, Robinson was booked on Spirit Airlines Flight 2145, but he missed the flight and was told at the gate he needed to rebook.

Shortly after, Robinson reportedly used his cellphone to call Spirit Airlines and, rather than rebook his flight, told the airline that he had information about the flight he missed and that “someone’s going to try to blow up the airport” and that person is “going to to try to blow up that flight, 2145.”

Robinson reportedly described a fictional person carrying an undetectable bomb through TSA checkpoints and urged Spirit Airlines not to allow anyone on the plane he missed.

The flight was immediately canceled. It would eventually take off more than six hours after its initial departure time.

The FBI arrested Robinson when he returned to DTW to board another flight for Los Angeles later that day. He appeared in federal court in Detroit on Friday, June 6, and was released on bond.

He’s scheduled to return to court June 27 for a preliminary examination.