A Southwest Airlines plane finishing a flight from Baltimore to Denver was parked in a remote area at Denver International Airport Saturday evening because of an unspecified security threat that was later deemed non-credible.
Amy Sanders, a spokeswoman for the FBI, said in an e-mail, “The threat was deemed non-credible at this time,” but would not identify the nature of the threat.
She added no one was detained or arrested “at this time.”
DIA spokesman Heath Montgomery said the passengers aboard Southwest Flight 3456 were shuttled to the main terminal by bus. Southwest said there were 126 passengers onboard.
Authorities were made aware of the threat at about 5:15 p.m. and the plane landed safely at DIA at 6:36 p.m.
Montgomery said the flight was bound for Denver, not diverted to DIA for a landing.
Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said he could not immediately identify the nature of the threat.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the captain in command of Flight 3456 from Baltimore/Washington to Denver has stopped short of the gate after an uneventful landing to allow the authorities at Denver International Airport access to the aircraft,” he said in an e-mail.
“We don’t have further details to share except to reiterate that the safe operation of every flight is a shared priority of all agencies and operators involved in commercial aviation. Our employees are working with any of the 126 customers whose travel plans will be impacted by the delayed arrival at the terminal. The aircraft is scheduled to travel on to Orange County this evening.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174, jbunch@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joeybunch
