FAA halts traffic at Washington DC airport after threat reported against plane

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday halted traffic at Reagan Washington National Airport after a reported threat against a United Airlines plane.

The FAA said operations were halted after a reported security issue and passengers have been taken off the plane, and the aircraft is away from the terminal while authorities investigate.

A person briefed on the matter said a threat had been made against the plane and in an abundance of caution the plane was being checked.

United referred questions to the FBI. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reagan Airport is just 5 miles from the White House and U.S. Capitol and the FAA imposes special security restrictions around the airspace.

FlightRadar24, a flight tracking site, said the issue was prompted by an unconfirmed threat against a United flight that had arrived from Houston and added the airport was preparing to reopen just before 1 p.m. ET.

More than 160 flights have already been delayed at Reagan, according to FlightAware.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago Editing by Franklin Paul and Chizu Nomiyama )