Snowden baits journalists into taking Moscow-to-Havana flight
<cite class="byline vcard">T</cite>Edward Snowden may have just pulled his greatest — or at least his most hilarious — con so far.
In a move that Frank Abagnale (also known as Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in “Catch Me if You Can&rdquo
would applaud, the National Security Agency leaker baited “dozens” of journalists into boarding a flight from Moscow to Havana that he was allegedly booked on. It would have been a great story, except for the fact that he didn’t show up.
Snowden allegedly arrived in Russia from Hong Kong on Sunday with the end game of gaining asylum in Ecuador. After Russian media outlets reported that he was taking Aeroflot flight 180 to Cuba Monday morning, “dozens” of journalists from The Associated Press, NBC News, Agence-France Presse and other outlets booked tickets on that flight as well.
It wasn’t until the flight attendants were told to take their seats that they realized he wasn’t coming. Point: Snowden. An AP journalist tweeted out this photo of Snowden’s empty seat:
Not only are journalists stuck on a pointless 12-hour flight from Moscow to Havana, there is also no alcohol on the plane. The half-day long flight from hell is completely dry due to the airline’s restrictions. Hopefully someone on that plane has a prescription bottle full of Ambien and is willing to share.
But it doesn’t end there!
Once the journalists on the plane land in Havana, it’s not like they can turn around and go on home. Cuban law dictates that they have to stay in the country for three full days before they can leave. These people must have really bad Cases of the Mondays.