Passenger Planes Cleared of Bomb Threat at Atlanta Airport

A pair of commercial airliners were combed by bomb squads after ”credible” threats against them were made on social media, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

According to the AJC, the threats were made via Twitter against Delta and Southwest airlines by a user called “King Zortic.” Zortic allegedly told Delta that he had placed a bomb on a Portland-Atlanta flight and allegedly told Southwest that he had placed a bomb on a flight from Milwaukee to Atlanta, the AJC reports.

Fighter jets were scrambled to escort the planes to the airport, which had closed down runway 27L to allow the airliners to land away from other traffic.

The Delta plane landed first, and passengers were quickly evacuated. Bomb sniffing dogs scoured the Delta plane and discovered nothing suspicious, an FBI spokesman told the AJC. Nothing suspicious has been found on the Southwest flight, either.

Another FBI spokesman told the AJC that the bureau will do everything in its power to determine who King Zortic is and bring him to justice.