F-16 fighter jets escorted two passenger planes into Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Saturday after a bomb threat made on Twitter was deemed credible, according to military officials.
Southwest Airlines Flight 2492 and Delta Flight 1156 landed safely at the airport and were searched by bomb disposal units, according to airline officials. Nothing out of the ordinary was found, officials said.
One runway was closed temporarily, causing delays for other flights as passengers on the two flights were questioned and their luggage was searched by bomb-sniffing dogs, officials said.
Delta spokesman Morgan Durant said, “It was a Portland, Oregon, to Atlanta, Georgia, flight. Delta is supporting the sweeping process carried out by authorities.”
The Southwest flight was coming from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The F-16 fighter jets were from McEntire Joint National Guard Base in South Carolina and returned to the base after the passenger planes landed.
“What you see is a very hefty response,” said CNN Aviation Correspondent Rene Marsh.
Due to the current world wide terror threats “no one wants to take the risk,” she said.
Normal operations returned to Atlanta’s airport after nothing suspicious was discovered during the searches.