Bomb threat made at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International led to terminal evacuation
FORT LAUDERDALE — People were forced to temporarily evacuate Terminal 1 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Sunday night after a reported bomb threat prompted a police response.
Travel Advisory: Due to a developing security-related incident, law enforcement has evacuated the upper level of Terminal 1 and temporarily closed #FLL's Departures entrance in an abundance of caution until further notice. Updates will be posted as more info is available.
— Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Int'l Airport (FLL) (@FLLFlyer) December 17, 2023
Around 5:26 p.m., deputies with Broward Sheriff’s Office Airport District responded to a report of a bomb threat at the terminal. As a precautionary measure, the upper level of Terminal 1 was evacuated.
Departures were delayed for just over an hour but travelers appeared mostly thankful for the law enforcement response.
“I think some people may not make it to their flights which is going to be very frustrating and I hope everybody just calms down and deals with the situation properly,” said Jadyna Seelye.
While investigating the incident, deputies detained a man for questioning
All clear after bomb threat at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
UPDATE
In a new post on the social media platform X, FLL stated that BSO has cleared the security incident in Terminal 1 and all airport roadway and terminal operations are back to normal.
Travel Advisory Update No. 2: Law enforcement has cleared the security incident in Terminal 1 and all airport roadway and terminal operations are returning to normal. We appreciate your patience during this incident.
— Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Int'l Airport (FLL) (@FLLFlyer) December 18, 2023
False alarm at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport: Deputies evacuate Terminal 1 level, detain man
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Deputies detained a man and evacuated an area of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for about four hours on Sunday, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
The deputies started to evacuate the upper level of the airport’s Terminal 1 at about 5:25 p.m. and detained a man for questioning at 50 Terminal Drive, according to BSO.
Deputies cleared the area at about 8:45 p.m. after a bomb threat turned out to be a false alarm.
Bomb threat closed part of Fort Lauderdale airport. Authorities say a man is detained
Update: As of 8:30 p.m., the airport is resuming normal operations. Parts of Terminal 1 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were evacuated Sunday night following a bomb threat, the Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed. At about 5:30 p.m., deputies as well as the BSO bomb squad responded to the terminal to investigate the incident. They detained a man for questioning. According to the airport’s post on X, the departures entrance was also temporarily closed out of “an abundance of caution.”
Dozens of flights out of FLL appear to be delayed, according to the airport’s flight tracker. Terminal 1’s airlines include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Air, Alaska Airlines, Copa Airlines and Bahamasair. Passengers with flights leaving after 5:30 p.m. should check with their airlines for status updates. This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
