- United Airlines evacuated 207 people at Denver International Airport following a reported bomb threat on Sunday evening.
- The Washington-bound flight was moved to a remote area for safety before passengers deplaned using stairs.
- Security teams cleared the aircraft without findings, marking the second security-related disruption for the airline that weekend.
(DENVER, COLORADO) – United Airlines evacuated 207 people from a United plane at Denver International Airport on Sunday after a reported bomb threat forced the aircraft to turn around before reaching the runway.
The flight, bound for Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., carried 200 passengers and 7 crew members. Airport officials said the evacuation happened at about 6:15 p.m. Sunday.
After the plane turned back, crews directed it to a remote area near an airport fire station, away from other aircraft. Emergency vehicles responded, and passengers left the aircraft using the plane’s stairs.
United later screened and cleared the aircraft. The airline gave passengers food and water and rebooked them, with arrivals in Washington scheduled by 2:30 a.m. MST Monday.
A spokesperson for DIA confirmed that the incident involved a bomb threat. Officials did not release further information about where the threat came from or how it was resolved.
The episode briefly disrupted normal departure movement for the United plane, which had already started moving toward the runway before crews reversed course. Instead of departing, it taxied across the airfield to the isolated location, where first responders waited nearby.
Passengers did not use emergency slides in Denver. They deplaned by stairs after the aircraft stopped in the remote area.
United did not report injuries in the evacuation. The aircraft was cleared after screening, allowing the airline to focus on rebooking travelers and arranging the delayed trip to Washington.
The incident added to a weekend of separate security-related disruptions involving the carrier. On Saturday, an unrelated United Flight 2092 diverted from Chicago to Pittsburgh over a possible security issue.
That flight carried 159 passengers and 6 crew. People on board evacuated using slides, and a bomb squad later cleared the aircraft with negative results.
Officials did not connect the Pittsburgh diversion to the Denver bomb threat. The two cases unfolded on consecutive days and involved different flights, different airports and different responses on the ground.
In Denver, the response centered on isolating the aircraft before passengers got off. By early Monday, United had rebooked travelers from the delayed DIA departure and aimed to get them to Dulles after hours of disruption that began with a bomb threat and ended with the United plane cleared on the ground.
