Fort Wayne, Indiana, airport reopens following Twitter bomb threat, 'abnormal' bag
Police evacuated Fort Wayne International Airport in Indiana on Friday after a threat made on Twitter about a bomb on an outgoing Delta flight, airport authorities said.
Scott Hinderman, executive director of the airport, told reporters that the Transportation Security Administration alerted officials to the tweeted threat about a bomb on the "next Delta flight outbound."
Hinderman said the airport initially deemed the tweet as a non-credible threat, until at about the same time, authorities identified a bag at the airport with "abnormalities," then a passenger on the flight asked to exit and rebook.
"At that point, it became a little bit more credible," Hinderman said, saying officials then evacuated the airport. The airport announced in a tweet just before 4:30 that the terminal had reopened.
UPDATE
The Airport Terminal Building is now OPEN. Passengers who were evacuated are being reprocessed through TSA. Passengers with outbound flights are able to enter the Airport campus. If you have a flight later this evening please give yourself extra time.— Fort Wayne Airport (@flyfwa) August 6, 2021
The bag was never loaded onto the aircraft, Hinderman said, noting a bomb squad was investigating.
During the evacuation, incoming flights continued to arrive, Hinderman said.
"We do think, unless something goes different, this will be a non-event in about 20 to 30 minutes," Hinderman said about 4 p.m. He told reporters he doesn't recall the airport being forced to evacuate from a potentially credible bomb threat during his 14 years at the airport.
The airport is located just outside of Fort Wayne in Allen County. It's serviced by four airlines: American, Delta, Allegiant and United.
The airport offers 14 nonstop flights to destinations within the U.S., including Chicago; Phoenix; Detroit; Philadelphia; and Orlando, Florida, among others, and allows for connections in bigger cities around the country.
Pulliam Fellow Claire Rafford contributed.
Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fort Wayne International Airport reopens following bomb threat