US flights face bomb threats, no explosives found: media reports

[NEW YORK] A bomb threat against a US Airways flight from San Diego to Philadelphia on Tuesday led authorities to search the plane and evacuate passengers, but no explosives were found, according to an airline official and media reports.

Police met US Airways flight 648, with 88 passengers and five crew on board, when it landed at Philadelphia International Airport due to a "possible security threat," said Victoria Lupica, a spokeswoman for US Airways' parent company, American Airlines A possible bomb threat prompted the search, Philadelphia's 6ABC television reported.

NBC and CNN reported that other US commercial flights received bomb threats on Tuesday: a United Airlines flight to Chicago and Delta Air Lines flight to Atlanta. The planes landed safely and were searched, and passengers were deplaned, CNN reported.

Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation were not immediately available for comment. The Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration had referred queries to the FBI.

REUTERS