A United Airlines flight traveling cross-country from Newark to Los Angeles was compelled to make an unscheduled landing in Chicago on Wednesday following what local media, referencing a preliminary police report, described as a bomb threat.
United Airlines merely stated that Flight 1533 landed safely at O’Hare Airport due to a “security issue,” refraining from elaborating further on the nature of the incident.
Television footage broadcast by Chicago stations depicted the aircraft parked away from the terminal at O’Hare, surrounded by black vans. A passenger, whose identity remains undisclosed, revealed in a local television interview that approximately two hours into the flight, the flight crew announced the diversion without providing an explanation, subsequently confining passengers to their seats.
According to the same passenger, upon landing, travelers were informed that an individual had inscribed a bomb threat on a mirror within one of the plane’s lavatories. Subsequently, passengers were instructed to deboard the aircraft without their belongings. Another unnamed passenger, interviewed on television, recounted that law enforcement officials removed carry-on luggage from the plane for inspection.
The Chicago Police Department confirmed their response to the incident, stating that police officers had “cleared the scene” and deferring further inquiries to the FBI. An FBI spokesperson acknowledged the bureau’s involvement, along with law enforcement partners, in addressing the aircraft incident at O’Hare Airport, although additional details were not disclosed.
Assuring the public, the FBI spokesperson emphasized, “There is no indication that there is an imminent threat to public safety or the facility itself at this time.”
Following the security sweep, United Airlines informed that the flight resumed its intended journey to Los Angeles later in the afternoon on Wednesday.
