FlightFollowerBomb Threat Forces Mass Evacuation of Allegiant Airlines Planes & Closure of Airport
On April 25, 2025, Allegiant Air Flight 2006 was preparing to depart St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport in Florida for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. A flight attendant discovered a handwritten bomb threat on a lavatory door while the aircraft was preparing for departure.
The crew stopped the aircraft and passengers were evacuated. The threat was broad enough to refer to Allegiant aircraft rather than only the flight on which the note was found, so law-enforcement activity expanded across the airport. Bomb-detection teams searched aircraft and the airport was temporarily closed while the response continued.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation later confirmed that the threat had been found on Flight 2006 and that the aircraft was evacuated. After an extensive search, no explosive device was found. No injuries were reported.
Contemporary reporting from the Associated Press and local television coverage also reported that the flight was bound for Cincinnati and that passengers were taken onto the tarmac after the aircraft was stopped. The airport resumed operations after the security response.
The FBI subsequently released an image of the handwritten threat and asked the public for information that could identify the person responsible. At the time of the initial response, investigators had not announced an arrest.
The event demonstrates why a written threat can produce an airport-wide operational response even when there is no evidence that an explosive device exists. The immediate priority was to separate passengers from the aircraft, secure the area and search for a device before normal operations could resume.
Accident Facts
- Date
- 25 April 2025
- Location
- St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, Florida
- Category
- Hijack / Security
Recorded line: “You've got to feel for these people who just came to the airport to get on a flight and to go about their business.”
Sources
FBI, “Allegiant Airlines – Bomb Threat,” St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport, April 25, 2025.
Spectrum News Bay News 9 report on the airport closure and evacuation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKEGFTJNtsY