A state of security was declared at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on Tuesday following a bomb threat on an airplane that affected several flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it has halted operations at Reagan Washington National Airport due to a security concern.
“All flight operations are underway at Reagan National Airport while passengers on the United Airlines flight are unloaded and bused to the terminal. We will provide more information as it becomes available,” Ronald Reagan Airport said in a post on X.
However, airport operator X later posted that the main runway had reopened at 12:50 p.m., adding: “Flights are resuming.”
According to the Daily Mail, passengers stranded on the runway reported a bomb threat on a United flight that landed from Houston.
FlightRadar24, a flight tracking website, reported that the problem was caused by an unconfirmed threat against a United Airlines plane that was pushed away from other planes at the airport.
A person briefed on the matter said threats had been made against the plane and the plane was being checked under extreme caution, Reuters reported.
According to FlightAware, more than 120 flights have already been delayed at Reagan.
Enforcement vehicles on the ground
Enforcement vehicles were seen near the plane, which was pushed away from other planes at the airport.
Flights delayed due to shutdown, passengers hit out
Meanwhile, as the shutdown entered its 35th day, the Federal Aviation Administration postponed another round of flights. Airlines said 3.2 million passengers were hit with delayed or canceled flights this week due to a spike in air traffic controller absences.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that the government shutdown will cause air travel chaos if it lasts another week, worsening staff shortages, snarling airport lines and closing parts of the airspace.
“So if you bring us to a week from today, Democrats, you’re going to see mass chaos … You’re going to see mass flight delays,” he said at a news conference in Philadelphia.
“You’re going to see mass cancellations and you may see us closing certain parts of the airspace because we just can’t handle it because we don’t have air traffic controllers.”
