More than 50 bomb threats made against US airlines this month
US officials say they have received over 50 threats aimed at US airlines since January 17 when a flight between Atlanta and Raleigh received a bomb threat.
At least 20 of these have come in the last week via Twitter, a FBI spokesman said.
Three separate Twitter accounts have been discovered as the source of at least eight of the threats.
One account was responsible for threats made to six different flights – an American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Chicago, a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Charlotte and four Delta flights.
"We are continuing to investigate these threats with our law enforcement and airline partners as we do with all stated threats," an FBI spokesman told CNN.
"Threats of this nature can and do result in costly responses from a multitude of law enforcement and airport entities and greatly inconvenience travelers and individuals responsible can be prosecuted federally."
A Delta flight had to be evacuated at New York JFK after receiving a ‘credible’ bomb threat on January 19 and fighter jets were scrambled to escort two planes to Atlanta’s airport on Saturday following threats made on Twitter.
The next day another Delta flight bound for Orlando was diverted to Dallas/Fort Worth.
It was reported that 17 bomb threats were posted online in a single day – on January 27.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said despite suggestions most are the work of copycat pranksters, every threat has to be taken seriously.
"We take these threats very seriously, and not only the FAA but our inter-agency team works through these issues and tries to get to the bottom of what’s happening and that’s what’s going on," Foxx said.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports