Passengers aboard a Delta Airlines flight were evacuated on Tuesday night after crew members reported a b0mb thre@t just before takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
According to Port Authority police, the Minneapolis-bound flight was preparing to depart Terminal C around 8 p.m. when the alert was raised. The aircraft was immediately moved away from the gate, and all passengers were ordered to deboard.
One passenger told TMZ that the pilot announced there would be a delay but assured everyone that there was no immediate d@nger. Witnesses also reported seeing one individual escorted from their seat before the rest of the passengers were removed from the plane.
Emergency vehicles surrounded the aircraft as authorities conducted a thorough search. After nearly two hours, no expl0sive device was found, and officials cleared the plane around 10 p.m.
Television host Jason Matheson of Fox’s The Jason Show, who was on the flight, shared updates from the tarmac on Instagram after being evacuated. He said passengers were told there was a “security issue” but were given no further details. Both Matheson and other passengers said Delta did not initially disclose that the delay was due to a b0mb thre@t.
Passengers were later rebooked onto a new flight scheduled for 7 a.m. the following morning.
Delta Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement to TMZ, saying, “The safety and security of our customers and employees comes before all else, and we apologize for the delay in their travels.”
This marked the second b0mb thre@t at a major U.S. airport in a single day, earlier that morning, another plane was searched at Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia. In both cases, police ultimately declared the situations all clear.