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The Daytona Beach Airport in Florida was evacuated after a potential bomb threat, according to a tweet from the airport and the Sheriff’s Department. At least one flight was diverted due to the possible threat.
However, by 11 a.m. on the east coast, the airport had been cleared. “Alert update: The airport terminal has been swept and cleared and is open. Passengers should check with their airlines regarding flight schedules,” the airport wrote on Twitter.
The initial alert warned of a potential threat that was later revealed to be a bomb threat.
“Alert: due to a potential threat and out of an abundance of caution, Daytona Beach International Airport has been evacuated. Law enforcement is on scene. Incoming flights have been diverted. Passengers should contact their airlines for updated flight info,” the tweet, posted on the morning of March 3, 2021, says.
Alert: due to a potential threat and out of an abundance of caution, Daytona Beach International Airport has been evacuated. Law enforcement is on scene. Incoming flights have been diverted. Passengers should contact their airlines for updated flight info.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Department confirmed on Twitter that the evacuation was prompted by a bomb threat. It’s not yet clear whether there was really a bomb or it was an empty threat.
Was the airport closed? The entrances to the airport were briefly shut down and blocked on the morning of March 3. However, the airport has now been cleared and is back open.
Entrances to Daytona Beach International airport closed down due to bomb threat. VCSO tells me bomb sniffing dogs are inside @MyNews13
Here’s what you need to know:
Sheriff’s Officials Were Checking & Clearing the Airport
Deputies and @DaytonaBchPD are at Daytona Beach International Airport @FlyDAB in response to a bomb threat. Thanks for your patience while the airport is checked and cleared!
Officials cleared the airport to make sure there wasn’t really an active threat.
“Deputies and @DaytonaBchPD are at Daytona Beach International Airport @FlyDAB in response to a bomb threat. Thanks for your patience while the airport is checked and cleared!” the Volusia County Sheriff’s Department wrote.
According to photos posted on Twitter by a local journalist, sheriff’s vehicles were blocking the roadway.
Local journalist Claire Metz reported that the threat came in an email. In addition to threatening a bomb, the email threatened to “shoot up airport,” she wrote on Twitter. “…bomb sniffing dogs are in the airport now searching.. .am flight had already left, but an @AmericanAir flight due in had to be diverted because of this..” she wrote.
People Expressed Frustration on Social Media
BREAKING: Daytona Beach International Airport on lockdown and being evacuated – law enforcement says they’re working to clear a bomb threat. @news6wkmg
Travelers took to social media to express frustration. “I’m stuck at the mall by Daytona airport with no updates from delta that anything has even happened. Took an Uber to find out all the roads are blocked. Still haven’t been updated!” wrote one woman on Twitter.
A man wrote, “Here stuck on a plane in Atlanta because the Daytona Beach Airport has been evacuated however no one knows why or what to do! Doesn’t airlines have contingency plans for these kinds of unforeseen delays other than to sit your azz on the plane until!!!!!!!!” Another traveler wrote on Twitter, “Sitting in a Daytona Airport for the second time in 1 week for the same damn reason is not what I had thought 2021 would do to me.” Others expressed similar frustration online, but the closure ended up being relatively short-lived.
According to WFLA-TV, people should check with their airlines for their updated flight schedules.