United Airlines makes emergency landing after passenger claims bomb in wife’s luggage

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI: A passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 380 made a bomb threat claim that forced the aircraft to divert and land at St Louis Lambert International Airport in Missouri.

The incident triggered an evacuation of all passengers and a thorough security sweep of the plane.

United Airlines flight diverts after bomb threat claim

Flight 380 was operating from Dallas to Chicago when it was diverted to St Louis after a male passenger “claimed there was a bomb in his wife’s luggage.”

According to a statement by United to the St Louis Post-Dispatch, the diversion was made to “address a potential security concern.” The aircraft landed at the airport at approximately 8:40 am local time.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The passenger who made the bomb claim was arrested, though his identity and any charges had not yet been made public at the time of the report. All 119 passengers were evacuated and moved to the concourse, where they waited as authorities responded, according to airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.

Bomb and arson squads searched the Boeing 737-700 for more than two hours before declaring it safe to resume operations.

The flight was expected to continue to Chicago later in the afternoon.

False bomb threats strain US airports, forcing diversions and delays

The incident is among several recent false bomb threats targeting US commercial flights.

On November 4, a caller reportedly threatened that a United Airlines flight would explode upon landing at Virginia’s Reagan Washington National Airport unless air traffic controllers paid $500,000 in cryptocurrency.

All flights arriving at and departing from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia were temporarily suspended. 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later confirmed that the flight landed safely, and the Federal Aviation Administration subsequently issued the all clear. Later the same day, a Delta Airlines flight at LaGuardia Airport was evacuated after the crew reported a bomb threat. Flights at the airport were temporarily grounded as emergency vehicles responded on the runway.

The Minneapolis-bound Delta flight, preparing to depart from Terminal C around 8 pm, was moved away from the terminal, and passengers were evacuated while authorities examined and searched luggage.

Passengers have experienced major travel disruptions and cancellations over the past two weeks due to the government shutdown, which concluded last week after more than 40 days.

Thousands of flights were canceled at major US airports after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented a 10 percent reduction in air traffic. Many air traffic controllers, unpaid for nearly a month, stopped reporting for duty, leading federal officials to limit travel over potential safety concerns.