Photo: KENA BETANCUR / AFP / Getty Images
A United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was forced to return to its departure airport on Saturday (May 30) due to a security scare involving a Bluetooth device. The device, named "BOMB," according to a passenger, triggered a security protocol, causing the flight to turn back after 4 hours and 24 minutes in the air.
The Sun reported that the device was a Fitbit, belonging to a teenage passenger.
The incident began when a passenger noticed the suspiciously named Bluetooth network on board. Despite requests from the crew for all passengers to turn off their Bluetooth devices, the network remained active. The flight crew, suspecting a potential threat, decided to return to Newark to ensure passenger safety.
Upon landing, Port Authority police, including K9 units, inspected the aircraft, as reported by PEOPLE. Passengers were evacuated and re-screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. The flight eventually resumed with a new crew, departing at 2:19 a.m. and arriving in Palma de Mallorca at 3:47 p.m. local time on Sunday, about 9 and a half hours late.
The incident, which involved 190 passengers and 12 crew members, was described by United Airlines as a "potential security concern." The airline has not provided specific details about the device or the individual responsible. This marks the third significant security-related incident involving United Airlines in recent weeks.