This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Police who searched two airplanes in Atlanta have reported that they found no bombs following online threats made against the aircraft.

FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett said law enforcement officials finished their search on Saturday night at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The threats had targeted Southwest Airlines Flight 2492, which arrived from Milwaukee, and Delta Air Lines Flight 1156, which arrived from Portland, Oregon. Both flights arrived safely.

NORAD spokesman Preston Schlachter said the threats were made through Twitter, an online social media network. The military dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to shadow the planes until they reached the airport. Atlanta International Airport spokesman Reese McCranie had earlier described the threats as “credible”.

Details of the apparent threats appeared in an exchange on Twitter with Delta’s customer assistance account. A Delta customer assistance operative answered a user who appeared to be making the threats by saying: “We take all threats serious and have reported your comments to our corporate security team for further review/action.”

After landing, the Southwest Airlines flight taxied to a remote area where the passengers and the aircraft were rescreened, company officials said in a statement.

“Our top priority is the safety of our customers and employees,” Southwest officials said. “We cannot comment on the nature of the security situation.”