FAA resumes flights at Reagan Airport after shutdown over United Airlines flight security threat

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday resumed flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after shutting them down earlier over a security threat regarding a United Airlines flight.

The FAA issued a ground stop, freezing all departing flights from the airport between 11:18 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. ET, according to the alert, the Daily Mail reported.

Crystal Nosal, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Media Relations, said in a statement, “All flight operations are being held at Reagan National while passengers on a United Airlines flight are being offloaded and bussed to the terminal. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”

“United Airlines flight 512 landed at Reagan National Airport around 11:30 a.m. and then stopped on an adjacent runway away from the terminal in response to a security threat. Airport runways remained closed until passengers were safely offloaded and bussed to the terminal. Runways reopened at 12:50 p.m. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police are conducting a thorough investigation with the assistance of multiple law enforcement partners. Several flights were diverted to other airports during the runway closure. People meeting passengers or flying this afternoon should expect delays and check with their airline for updated flight information,” Nosal later added.

In a recording posted on X between an air traffic controller and the plane's pilot, the ATC said, "We have an unconfirmed bomb report for your flight. We've got to get you away from the airport."

Flight radar around the airport showed several planes circling during the ground stop, while others were diverted to other locations.

The ground stop impacted about 820 flights, with maximum delays of 66 minutes and average delays of 33 minutes.

The airport announced that “our main runway reopened at 12:50 p.m.” and “flights are resuming,” ARLnow reported. The United Airlines flight that caused the concern had arrived from Houston.