BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A US Airways flight was this afternoon (May 8) delayed for hours at the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport after a suspicious package was found onboard.
Reports reaching SKNVibes indicated that a package, allegedly labelled “nuclear warhead, do not open”, was found onboard US Airways Flight 1693, which arrived from Charlotte, North Carolina and was scheduled to depart at 4:15 p.m. for that destination.
Head of Corporate Affairs and Public Relations of St. Christopher and Nevis Air and Seaports Authority, Delcia Bradley-King, confirmed that a suspicious package was found onboard the aircraft but could not say the same for the alleged label.
“The authorities at the airport received a report that a suspicious package was onboard the aircraft. The Fire and rescue Services and the police Department were called in.
They swept the place and found the package, which was harmless. The passengers, employees at the airport and other persons present were told to vacate the area as a safety precaution,” Bradley-King said.
A police press release further informed, “This afternoon around 4:00 p.m. the authorities at the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport received a report that a suspicious object had been found on board US Airways Flight #1693 which landed at 3:31 p.m. The Police, Bomb Disposal Unit, Fire and Rescue Services were immediately called in and with the assistance of the K-9 Unit, performed a sweep of the aircraft.
“Meanwhile, the Airport was evacuated and operations were suspended while the search was being conducted. The suspicious object was removed and examined and the contents found to be harmless. The evacuation was conducted in an orderly manner with the full cooperation of passengers, airport personnel and the general public.
“Civil aviation officers of the Ministry of International Transport have been in touch with TSA of the USA and a full investigation of the circumstances has already begun. After the clearance was given by the authorities, the airport was eventually reopened at 6:25 p.m. and operations have resumed as normal. The authorities take this opportunity to thank all for their cooperation and regret the inconvenience caused by this occurrence.”
A number of passengers told this media house that they were unaware of what transpired, but were informed that the flight would have been delayed.
Joel Frank, a passenger who was returning to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said the flight was scheduled to depart at 4:15 p.m. “but at 4:00 p.m. while we were in the waiting area, it was announced that boarding would be delayed. They made that announcement twice of half hour away and another 15 minutes away. They moved us to the parking lot for another 15 minutes then off the airport after that”.
