MOSCOW, December 1 (Sputnik) — American Airlines Flight 67 from Barcelona, Spain, was evacuated upon arrival into New York’s JFK airport Sunday at noon due to a bomb threat, having forced over 200 people to frantically leave the aircraft in a faraway part of the airfield. Nothing hazardous was discovered aboard.
The Boeing 767 was ordered to make an emergency landing in a remote area of the airfield, which was executed successfully. Shortly thereafter all 212 people, including nine crew members, were evacuated.
“They told us to grab our luggage and get off,” said American Airlines Flight 67 passenger Jacob Rosenberg, as quoted by the NY Daily News. The 37-years-old Rosenberg was returning from a family vacation with his wife. “The plane pulled up to the side of the runway. Then Port Authority police vehicles pulled up, along with a police bomb squad, firetrucks and K-9 units.”
Port Authority police confirm bomb threat. Are checking luggage with dogs now. Won't release us until they are done.
— Jacob Rosenberg (@jrosenberg) 30 ноября 2014
Exiting the plane pic.twitter.com/rbLsnhYXWy
— Jacob Rosenberg (@jrosenberg) 30 ноября 2014
The evacuation was a surprise to the passengers, who were told of the bomb threat only after they had been moved away at a safe distance from the aircraft. The plane landed at 12:01 pm local time.
“When we landed, we saw all this commotion with police cars and firetrucks with their lights flashing,” stunned passenger David Brubaker told The NY Post. “Before that, there was no indication anything was wrong. Everyone remained really calm.”
The Port Authority is yet to determine who called in the threat. The alert came about shortly after a report was published, saying that unidentified terrorists, possibly linked with Al-Qaeda or British citizens, affiliated with Islamic State, are intending to blow up five European planes in a ‘spectacular’ Christmas attack, according to British press.
"We've been told that five planes are being targeted in a high profile hit before Christmas. They've been waiting for the big one,” a security source told the Express. “The threat is aimed at Europe. The U.S. has improved their security over the summer but we have not. Everyone is expecting something catastrophic very soon.”
American Airlines expressed its apologies to the 203 Flight 67 passengers for their time and any inconveniences sustained during the forced wait. As the holiday season is approaching, planes are usually packed this time of year, meaning any delay on busy tourist destinations may cost valuable time and money to both carriers and passengers alike.