Published on : Monday, January 27, 2014
Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) flights were disrupted and passengers evacuated from the commercial terminal after a caller made a bomb threat.
About noon on Friday, December 20, 2013, a caller routed through Avis rental car agency’s toll free line told an Avis employee that there was a bomb in the airport. Gainesville Police immediately evacuated the building and called other local law enforcement agencies to assist.
Gainesville Fire Rescue, Alachua Country Fire Rescue and the Federal Bureau of Investigation responded, as did K-9 Units from University Police Department. Law enforcement officers swept the building but did not find any suspicious package or indications of a threat.
The terminal and the airfield were closed for about two hours. During that time, at least three commercial flights were impacted. Delta flight #5421 was delayed on the ground at GNV as passengers and crew were evacuated from the terminal. American Airlines flight #3475 from Miami was delayed on the ground as was US Airways flight 4577 in Charlotte until GNV reopened. The airport’s runways were also closed to general aviation traffic during the incident.
About 100 evacuated passengers as well as airport and tenant employees were led to a field southeast of the commercial terminal for safety. Gainesville Regional Transit was called for buses to assist with passengers’ comfort during the disruption. Santa Fe College opened the Kirkpatrick Center Institute for Public Safety which is located across NE 39th from the airport’s entrance road in order to accommodate evacuated passengers as well as passengers arriving for later flights.
Source:- Gainesville Regional Airport
Tags: Airline News
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