Bomb menace on a airplane results in cease of flights at DC’s Reagan airport | EUROtoday

All flights out and in of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia have been briefly halted on Tuesday afternoon after a bomb menace was made towards a United Airlines airplane.

The total airport was positioned on a floor cease as passengers have been evacuated off the airplane and bused to the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration mentioned flights have been resuming after earlier issuing a floor cease as a consequence of a reported safety challenge.

The plane was moved away from the terminal whereas authorities investigated. Flights resumed and runways reopened at 12:50 p.m., airport officers mentioned.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the menace on social media, writing that the flight landed “safely” at DCA and “passengers were evacuated, and law enforcement conducted a full search of the aircraft.”

The FBI Washington Field Office reported “no hazards were found” on the flight.

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An individual briefed on the incident instructed Reuters {that a} menace had been made towards the airplane and it was being checked out of an abundance of warning.

Air site visitors controllers could possibly be heard speaking with the United flight about an “unconfirmed bomb threat” round 11:30 a.m., WUSA9 reported.

“I’m sorry to have to do this to you. We’ve got to turn you, again … We have an unconfirmed bomb report for your flight, and we’ve got to get you away from the airport,” an air site visitors controller might be heard telling the flight crew.

A couple of minutes later, air site visitors management warned different flights in regards to the potential menace.

“We have an unconfirmed bomb report … I mean, I can confirm someone called. Someone called and said there was a bomb on 512, they said if it landed, it would explode — well, it landed,” an air site visitors controller mentioned in LiveATC audio from round 11:37 a.m.

Emergency crews responded to the flight round midday, with Reagan Airport officers confirming the airplane had been evacuated in a put up on X at 12:22 p.m.

“All flight operations are being held at Reagan National while passengers on a United Airlines flight are being offloaded and bussed to the terminal,” the airport posted.

According to DCA, some flights have been compelled to divert to different airports whereas the runways have been closed.

“People meeting passengers or flying this afternoon should expet delays and check with their airline for updated flight information,” the airport wrote on X in a later replace.

More than 120 flights have been delayed at Reagan because of this, based on Reuters. The airport is situated about 5 miles from the White House and the U.S. Capitol.

Flight monitoring web site FlightRadar24 mentioned the difficulty was attributable to an unconfirmed menace towards the United flight, which arrived on the airport from Houston.

United didn’t instantly return a request for remark from The Independent.