Two Israel bound Delta flights evacuated at JFK following bomb threat

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Delta flight to Israel evacuated at JFK following bomb scare

Anonymous caller reported Monday evening that a pipe bomb had been placed aboard Delta’s flight 468. Two Delta flights were evacuated, no explosives found.

By JTA | Jan. 20, 2015 | 7:11 PM

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-232 Photo by AP




Two Delta Air Lines flights arriving at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, one continuing to and one arriving from Tel Aviv, were evacuated following a bomb threat.

An anonymous caller to an unnamed airline reported Monday evening that a pipe bomb had been placed aboard Delta’s flight 468, according to reports. The airline has two flights with the same number.

One of the flights, a Boeing 777, was waiting to depart from Kennedy Airport at 9:23 p.m. when the call came in. The passengers were evacuated and waited on buses on the tarmac while security officials searched the plane. The luggage also was removed and rescreened. No explosives were found on board.

The second flight, a Boeing 757, arrived at the airport from San Francisco at 8 p.m. and was scheduled to continue on to Tel Aviv. After the passengers disembarked, the plane was searched. No explosives were found.

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.638596



United Airlines Pilot Refused to Fly to Israel

Pilot who refused to fly his scheduled United Airlines flight to Israel leaves 300 passengers stuck on the plane for hours.


By Moshe Cohen
First Publish: 6/26/2014, 9:43 AM

A pilot who refused to fly his scheduled United Airlines flight to Israel left 300 passengers stuck on the plane for hours while airline officials scrambled to find another pilot. The United Airlines flight from Newark to Tel Aviv was set to leave early in the week. Usually a non-stop flight, passengers expected to get to their destinations after about 12 hours, but instead were in transit for about 30. Airline personnel refused to let them disembark for hours, passengers said, “making us feel like hostages, without food or water,” according to one witness.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182185 (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182185#.VMAwzq7zbwc)

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3 more US flights affected today, a tweet scrambles fighter jets today according to CNN:

Fighter jets escort two passenger planes after bomb threat

By Susanna Capelouto
Updated 0013 GMT (0813 HKT) January 25, 2015
(CNN)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.
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.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/24/us/atlanta-bomb-threat/





On a different note, while terrorists have been causing delays for some flights, some religious men apparently have been causing their own delays due to fear of female proximity:

Groups of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men keep delaying flights by refusing to sit next to women

Flight between New York and Tel Aviv suffer repeated delays due to ultra-Orthodox religious preferences

Jon Stone
Tuesday 30 December 2014
A flight from New York to Tel Aviv was delayed by half an hour last week after a group of male ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers refused to sit next to women (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ultraorthodox-jews-cause-11hour-long-nightmare-on-board-flight-to-israel-9756899.html), the third such incident in recent months.

The cabin crew on the Delta flight out of John F. Kennedy Airport tried to find seats for the men, but were met with refusal by other passengers, some of whom who took a dim view of the reasoning behind the request.
The incident took place on Delta flight 468 on 20 December, the Israeli publication The Times of Israel reports. An American passenger ultimately switched seats with the men.
This is the third widely reported incident in the last few months in which ultra-Orthodox Jewish men have delayed a flight by asking to be segregated from women.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/groups-of-ultraorthodox-jewish-men-keep-delaying-flights-by-refusing-to-sit-next-to-women-9949866.html

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Third such incidence in recent days it appears:

Delta Airlines Flight Diverted to DFW Airport
6:38 PM CST on Sunday, Jan 25, 2015 DFW Airport officials confirmed that a Delta Airlines flight was diverted to DFW on Sunday afternoon. Airport spokesman David Magana did not give much information to NBC DFW other than saying "the airport is responding per protocol."
WESH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Orlando told NBC DFW that Delta Flight #1061 is the flight involved. It left Los Angeles International Airport at 10:30 a.m. PT. The station said it landed at DFW airport at 3:52 p.m. CT. It's unclear when the flight will leave.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Delta-Flight-Diverted-to-DFW-Airport-289730921.html

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Feds have started investigation as SouthWest is target of twitter threats today:


Recent Bomb Threats To Airlines Via Twitter Prompts Federal Investigation

January 26, 2015 7:25 PM

(CBS SF) — If you saw a Twitter conversation-turned-threat between your airline and a user with ISIS referenced in their name hours before your flight, would you reconsider your travel plans?

It’s a serious question passengers are likely contemplating as a disturbing trend of new threats targeted at airlines already prompted the evacuation of at least four flights over the weekend.

The latest series of threats comes Monday afternoon from several users. Twitter has reportedly taken action against one of them, @ISISGangCP, by suspending their account about one hour after the user tweeted a bomb threat to Southwest and Delta Airlines. The airlines responded immediately via Twitter.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/01/26/bomb-threats-to-airlines-on-twitter-prompting-federal-investigation/


Federal sources say there have been social media threats against at least six commericial planes Monday, including the Dallas-bound Southwest flight, NBC News reported. Other threats targeted Delta, Jet Blue and US Airways flights.

The threats came two days after two other flights, including a Southwest flight, were escorted by NORAD fighter jets to Atlanta's Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport after they were also threatened. After those planes landed, they were swept by law enforcement officials and nothing suspicious was found.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Bound-Southwest-Airlines-Flight-Target-of-Social-Media-Threat-289869741.html