After an April Fool's weekend bomb hoax forced a plane to be evacuated, Malaysia has warned that would-be pranksters face a lifetime in jail for making threats against aircraft.

"If you think this is a joke, you may have to pay a heavy price," Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy was quoted as saying in the Star daily.

A 31-year-old man was detained Sunday for staging a bomb scare aboard a domestic flight operated by budget carrier AirAsia.

Delay flights for hours

The man, who police say will be sent for psychiatric evaluation, told a flight attendant he wanted to get off the plane bound for Sabah because there was a bomb on board.

The flight was evacuated and a bomb squad sent in, delaying incoming flights for hours.

Chan said the penalty for endangering the safety of an aircraft by intentionally giving false or misleading information was life imprisonment.

"The government is very concerned about the safety of our flights," he said, adding that such incidents wasted time and money.