Terminal Closed For Three Hours

Abilene Regional Airport was evacuated and closed for more than three hours Thursday, after a bomb threat was reported.

City spokeswoman Lenka Wright said the threat was reported through a third party around 8:15 a.m. and about 50 people were removed from the terminal. Flight departures and arrivals were delayed and state highway 36 was also closed.

Shortly after explosive-sniffing dogs brought in from nearby Dyess Air Force Base found nothing, the airport was allowed to reopen, according to the Associated Press.

"The situation is cleared," she said. "Nothing was found."

The FBI assisted local police and fire officers search the terminal. FBI spokesman John Skillestad said authorities are now working to trace the call.

"We have a plan in place for situations like this," said ABI Aviation Director Don Green. "We take every threat seriously and are thankful this ended without the threat being carried out. We appreciate our customers being so understanding... since we tried to put their safety first.

"We also commend the local police and fire department personnel as well as the FBI, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Dyess for their help in resolving the situation as efficiently as they did."

Thursday's incident was the second bomb threat called in against a Texas airport this week. As ANN reported, on Saturday an anonymous caller made a series of threats against a flight departing from San Antonio International to Dallas. No bomb was found, but more than 100 flights were delayed as crews searched the airport.

FMI: www.abilenetx.com/index.htm