A Delta Air Lines plane scheduled to depart from New York for Israel was held before takeoff at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York following a bomb threat. Flight DL234 was scheduled to depart at 10:40 p.m. Israel time.
The aircraft was denied clearance for takeoff after police received a phone call claiming that a bomb had been planted on board. Authorities suspect that the caller may be the same individual who earlier claimed that a bomb had been placed on a Delta flight that landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday morning. That aircraft was searched, and the incident ended without any unusual findings.
The flight was only permitted to depart once US security authorities had completed their inspections and clearance had been granted by Israeli security.
The incident follows a similar bomb threat earlier Tuesday, when a Delta aircraft arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport from New York was moved to an isolated parking area after the Israel Airports Authority received an anonymous report of a suspicious object on board that could contain explosives.
All passengers were evacuated from the aircraft, and security personnel conducted searches to rule out the possibility of an explosive device.
No suspicious objects or explosives were reported. Although security officials assessed the threat as likely a hoax, they decided to thoroughly inspect the aircraft as a precaution.
The Israel Airports Authority later confirmed the incident was resolved, stating, “The incident ended with no unusual findings.”