FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - A possible bomb threat at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport caused passengers to evacuate a Spirit Airlines plane, Sunday night.
By Monday morning, authorities confirmed that there was no credible threat and that the aircraft had been cleared. However, the incident caused much distress for many passengers who were hoping to make it to Dallas, Texas, safely and on time, Sunday night.
The flight was getting ready to take off to Dallas when the pilot of Spirit Airlines Flight 71 declared an emergency evacuation.
A passenger on board the plane, Autumn Lynn, captured some of the passengers exiting the plane via a Facebook Live video. “So, we’ve been evacuated and all of our stuff is on the plane,” said Lynn in the Facebook Live video. “They pulled the man out of his seat and ripped him off the plane.”
According to officials, at around 7:30 p.m., a passenger on the flight glanced over at a passenger’s cellphone and saw text messages that were alarming, including some that referenced a “bomb.” “He was an older man, unfortunately, of Middle Eastern descent. So this is what’s going on,” said Lynn.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies then escorted two men, whose identities have not yet been released, off the plane. The two men were then interviewed by the FBI.
A Spirit Airlines spokesperson acknowledged the incident in a statement, saying, “We’re working through it.”
Lynn, however, took to social media to complain about the way the airline handled the situation. She wrote, “After all of that, Spirit is doing nothing for us since no ‘natural disasters’ occurred. They handed us stale cookies and told us to have a seat and wait to get back on the plane.”
According to the BSO, the aircraft was checked and cleared.
The flight was originally scheduled to take off at 8:15 p.m., Sunday, but did not depart till after 2:30 a.m., Monday. These passengers finally made it to Dallas at around 5 a.m., Monday morning.
No arrests were made.
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