WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach International Airport's Concourse C was evacuated and some of its flights were delayed on Tuesday after a Frontier passenger said he had a bomb in his bag, according to the sheriff's office.
In a tweet, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said that around 5:04 p.m., deputies, bomb and arson detectives and FBI agents responded to the area after a man boarding a flight to Philadephia said he had such a device.
"Yesterday evening, during the boarding process for Flight 2346 from West Palm Beach International Airport to Philadelphia International Airport, a passenger allegedly made a safety-related threat that prompted crewmembers to report the matter to local law enforcement," Frontier Airlines said in a statement.
Around 8 p.m., no bomb was found after authorities conducted a search of the plane and the concourse area, PBSO explained. Passengers were able to reenter the concourse.
According to the sheriff's department, the unnamed man was arrested and is now facing federal charges.
Palm Beach's WPTV reported that seven flights were delayed and hundreds of people planning to depart were evacuated outside the terminal.
Frontier Airlines said the original flight to Philadelphia was delayed until Wednesday morning and the airline provided hotel accommodations for those who needed a room for the night.
"There was a man on the flight who came on and said that he had cocaine in his bag and that’s why it was so heavy and he just talked and talked and talked," a passenger on the plane told WPTV. "He seemed innocuous, but who knows? I did not hear anything about a bomb threat."
Luana Cordeiro also told the station she was on the plane and noticed the man being escorted off the plane.
"I personally was not scared because that man was on the flight with me. I know that, oh, he probably said something really stupid," Cordeiro said. "Tomorrow my kids have school, so have to rearrange their schedule, but it's OK. We'll figure it out, as long as we're safe."
