A Cairo-bound EgyptAir flight was held at John F. Kennedy International Airport for 10 hours after a threat to the aircraft was reported to authorities, reported the Associated Press.
EgyptAir Flight 989 from Montreal arrived at Kennedy about 9:00 pm on Friday, said Pasquale DiFulco, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The flight was scheduled to depart for Cairo at 11:00 pm, but faced delays unrelated to the threat, he said.
After passengers boarded the plane about 11:30 pm, Port Authority police received a call from EgyptAir officials informing them of a threat, DiFulco said.
All 475 passengers and 20 crew members were evacuated. Cargo was removed from the plane.
The plane and its cargo were searched manually, mechanically and by a canine explosives unit, DiFulco said.
DiFulco said he did not know the specific nature of the threat. EgyptAir officials could not be reached for comment Saturday when contacted by the AP.
The plane was cleared to fly at 4:15 am, but did not depart until a new crew arrived at 9:00 am Saturday.
Egyptian dailies did not report on the incident, which coincides with a visit by EgyptAir officials to the US to respond to the preliminary US report on the October 1999 crash of an EgyptAir flight in which 217 people died - Albawaba.com
