Florida’s St Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) received a bomb threat, after a note was discovered inside an Allegiant Air flight, prompting an evacuation and a temporary airport shutdown.
After a thorough investigation, the airport returned to normal operations by Friday night.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), the Allegiant plane had landed from Cincinnati around 5:30 pm (local time) and was scheduled to return to the same destination.
As the aircraft taxied from the gate, a flight attendant opened the rear lavatory door and found a written bomb threat, prompting the pilot to stop the plane and evacuate the passengers immediately.
“Everyone was safely deplaned and there were no injuries,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news briefing. The PCSO confirmed that the threat was “very broad” and appeared to extend beyond a single aircraft. “It wasn’t limited to the particular plane and included all Allegiant planes at the airport,” Gualtieri added, as reported by Fox 13.
Authorities subsequently grounded all six Allegiant aircraft at the airport. Bomb-sniffing dogs were deployed to sweep the planes while passengers from each were safely disembarked. No explosives were found on any of the aircraft, and the airport reopened around 8 pm (local time), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed.
The incident occurred shortly before Allegiant Flight 2006 was set to depart for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport at 3:59 pm (local time), according to a statement released by Allegiant Air. “The safety of our passengers and crew is always our priority,” the airline said, adding that it is cooperating with law enforcement during the ongoing investigation.
As per ABC Action News, all passengers aboard the affected flight are being interviewed, and investigators reportedly have some suspects. However, Sheriff Gualtieri did not elaborate on who might be responsible for the written threat.
As per the news agency Associated Press, the threat has emerged at a time when fewer Americans report feeling safe about flying, based on recent polling by the AP-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research.
Travellers were advised to check with their airlines for updates regarding specific flights impacted during the closure.
