ATLANTA (AP) – Law enforcement officials found no bombs on two planes at Atlanta’s main airport after authorities received what they considered credible threats, FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett said.
The threats targeted Southwest Airlines Flight 2492, which arrived at Atlanta from Milwaukee, and Delta Air Lines Flight 1156, which arrived from Portland, Oregon, said Reese McCranie, a spokesman for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Both planes landed safely.
The passengers were taken off the aircraft, and police bomb and K-9 teams examined both planes, authorities said.
The threats were posted on the social media network Twitter, said Preston Schlachter, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command. After being alerted, military officials sent two F-16 fighter jets from a base in South Carolina to escort the commercial aircraft to Atlanta.
Upon landing, the Southwest Airlines flight taxied to a remote area where the passengers and the aircraft were rescreened, company officials said in a statement.
“Our top priority is the safety of our customers and employees,” Southwest officials said. “We cannot comment on the nature of the security situation.”
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