Reagan National halts flights after bomb threat on United plane

All flights into and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were halted Tuesday after a reported bomb threat against a United Airlines aircraft that had arrived from Houston, officials said, and operations resumed about an hour later after authorities cleared the plane. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a ground stop at 11:18 a.m. Eastern, and the main runway reopened around 12:50 p.m., the airport said. Passengers from the affected flight were removed, bussed to the terminal and law enforcement conducted a search of the aircraft.

Airport officials said the aircraft was moved away from the terminal and isolated on the airfield while investigators examined the plane. A person briefed on the response said the threat was being checked out as a precaution. United Airlines referred questions to the FBI, which did not immediately comment. The Transportation Secretary posted that the flight had landed safely, passengers were evacuated, law enforcement completed a full search and the FAA had given the all clear.

The ground stop forced other planes to circle or divert and prompted widespread delays. The FAA reported an average departing delay of 51 minutes at the...