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A JetBlue plane was evacuated at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in southern Florida after a passenger made a bomb threat that immediately triggered security protocols.
The situation created moments of tension among the passengers on board the flight, as agents from the Airport District of the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) arrived to investigate the threat.
According to the authorities -quoted by the local press- the events occurred shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunday at Terminal 4 of the airport.
The agents responded to a report of "a verbal threat" made by a passenger on a JetBlue flight that was preparing for takeoff.
The suspect was identified as Robert Albanese, 76 years old.
According to the BSO, the man "made the threat" aboard the aircraft, which led to his immediate detention.
As a precautionary measure, the plane was evacuated, and a K9 unit inspected the aircraft for explosives.
After the review, the authorities determined that “there was no bomb.”
The passengers, who had been forced to temporarily disembark from the plane, were able to return on board afterwards.
The authorities indicated that there were no additional interruptions in airport operations and that the flight took off without further setbacks.
Albanese was taken into custody on the spot.
Until Sunday afternoon, he was not listed in the Broward County inmate system, and the authorities had not disclosed the formal charges against him.
The incident reactivated strict airport security protocols in the United States, where any threat related to explosives is taken with the utmost seriousness, even when it turns out to be a false alarm.
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