Bomb threat halts Allegiant flight at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport

An Allegiant Air flight preparing to depart St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) was abruptly halted and evacuated on April 25 evening after a flight attendant discovered a written bomb threat in the rear lavatory.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) responded swiftly to the threat, which was found as the aircraft, Allegiant Flight 2006, was taxiing for departure to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) with approximately 170 passengers on board. The same aircraft had arrived from Cincinnati about two hours earlier, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media.

According to investigators, the flight attendant immediately notified the pilot upon discovering the threat, prompting an emergency stop and passenger evacuation. "Everyone did move off the plane extremely fast," said passenger Jim Seay. "Emergency exits were not used. Everybody went out the regular entryway and as soon as you were off the plane there was an expedited effort to move people away from the plane."

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri confirmed during a press conference that the threat was not isolated to the individual aircraft. “The threat was very broad and wasn't limited to the particular plane, and included all Allegiant planes at the airport,” he said. As a result, all six Allegiant planes at PIE were secured and searched by bomb-sniffing dogs. No explosive devices were found.

PCSO began a wide-ranging investigation, interviewing passengers from the affected flight. "We do have some people that their actions were suspicious and we're looking into it," Gualtieri added. Passengers were held in a secured area for several hours as around 20 detectives conducted interviews. Investigators are working to determine whether the threat was written during this flight or left over from the previous leg.

Allegiant Air issued a statement emphasizing safety as its top priority, noting that the flight was delayed due to “a possible security issue.” Operations at the airport have since resumed.

“We just want to get their information, get basic background, who saw what, did anybody, did they see people using the restroom,” Gualtieri said.

By Vafa Guliyeva