A Miami man arrested for a bomb threat at the Fort Lauderdale airport said he was just trying to flirt.

A Miami man told deputies he was “trying to be funny” and “flirt” with another passenger at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport by saying he had a bomb in his bag, authorities said.

There was no bomb, but the remark bombed in the eyes of the law, earning him a felony charge, according to an arrest report made public on Wednesday.

The Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Heartthrob was at gate G11 on the airport’s new concourse. That’s a (shocker) Spirit Airlines gate. Witnesses say the man told another passenger,

If the bomb in my bag goes off prematurely, I apologize to your family in advance.

That passenger, quite reasonably I think, reported this to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The man says he “knew what he said was wrong,” according to a police report. He just thought it was a funny way to flirt. He’s been released on $7,500 bond and faces second-degree felony charges of making a false bomb report.

I tend to think that instead of something like ‘I’ve got explosives in my pants,’ he might have tried out “are you a runway? Because my heart is ready to take off every time I see you” or “is this the boarding gate to your heart? Because I’ve got a first-class ticket.”

While the man might have gotten slapped, at least he wouldn’t have been arrested!

Update: though the gate is frequently used by Spirit, the airline points out that it’s a common use gate and says they do not have any indication that this person was one of their passengers.