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Airlines

Delta flight grounded following social media threat

By Janine Puhak Fox News
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A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Austin was delayed on Wednesday after officials became aware of an online threat posted to social media regarding the intended trip.

On Jan. 23, Delta flight 2234 from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to the Lone Star State was reportedly delayed multiple times, before passengers were cleared from the aircraft and instructed to board another plane “out of an abundance of caution,” Spectrum News Austin reports.

"Flight 2234 was delayed Wednesday evening due to a threat issued via social media. Out of an abundance of caution the aircraft was taken out of service for a security search by law enforcement. Passengers are being re-accommodated on a different aircraft to their destination,” a Delta spokesperson said.

"Flight 2234 was delayed Wednesday evening due to a threat issued via social media. Out of an abundance of caution the aircraft was taken out of service for a security search by law enforcement. Passengers are being re-accommodated on a different aircraft to their destination,” a Delta spokesperson said. (iStock)

Atlanta airport spokesperson Elise Durham later confirmed to CBS 46 that a 911 operator informed officials after spotting a Twitter message concerned a threat to flight 2234, after which the ground stop was lifted after 15 minutes.

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The Atlanta Police Department soon responded and conducted a security sweep, and gave an all-clear. Identifying the scare was an isolated incident, the airport soon resumed normal operations.

Flight 2234 passengers went on to fly to Austin on the new plane, landing at 10:33 p.m.

It remains unclear at this time exactly what the threat involved.

Though reps for the carrier did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment, they did offer CBS the following statement on the incident:

"Flight 2234 was delayed Wednesday evening due to a threat issued via social media. Out of an abundance of caution the aircraft was taken out of service for a security search by law enforcement. Passengers are being re-accommodated on a different aircraft to their destination,” a spokesperson said.

Before boarding the second plane, passenger John Morgo told Spectrum News that the flight had been pushed back every half hour, and that Delta staffers initially kept quiet on the situation.

Before boarding the second plane, passenger John Morgo told Spectrum News that the flight had been pushed back every half hour, and that Delta staffers initially kept quiet on the situation. (iStock)

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Before boarding the second plane, passenger John Morgo told Spectrum News that the flight had been pushed back every half hour, and that Delta staffers initially kept quiet on the situation. However, he now says that he was glad the airline took the precautionary measures that they did.

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"If security was the issue then Delta had every right to do what they did. We're actually grateful they took every precaution because we'd rather get here in one piece than not at all," Morgo said.