Flights to Philadelphia International resume after brief ground stop over bomb threat

Flights to the Philadelphia International Airport were briefly grounded on Friday due to a bomb threat that was resolved without incident, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and police.

The FAA issued a ground stop advisory for the airport shortly after 7 p.m. local time (0000 GMT), saying there was a bomb threat. About 30 minutes later, the FAA said the security incident was resolved, and normal operations had resumed.

The ground stoppage was due to a "situation requiring the assistance of the Philadelphia Police aboard a plane," a police spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The plane has been cleared for takeoff, and the ground stoppage has been lifted, the spokesperson added.

There were reports of bomb threats at other U.S. airports earlier this month that were also cleared without incident.

Operations at the Reagan Washington National Airport faced a brief halt in early November due to a bomb threat against a United Airlines plane. The FBI said at the time it had responded to the report and found nothing hazardous.

On the same day, a Delta flight from LaGuardia International Airport was evacuated before takeoff after reports of a bomb threat.

Reuters