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Bomb threat shuts down airport
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Posted on Oct 02 2020
Police vehicles are seen from a distance at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport. (NEIL FAMA)
An early afternoon phone call to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport yesterday led to a bomb scare that resulted in all people inside the airport being evacuated or told to leave until the all-clear is given.
The all-clear was declared at the airport at approximately 4:42pm.
CBP received the anonymous call at approximately 2:18pm, saying that an Asiana Airlines plane arriving on Saipan would explode. According to a Commonwealth Ports Authority statement, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and CPA were immediately notified and CPA immediately activated its airport emergency plan.
CPA chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds confirmed that all peole who were present at the airport were told to stay out of the area until the all-clear.
King-Hinds and CPA executive director Chris Tenorio said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and CPA are looking into the situation and couldn’t give more information as the situation is still under investigation.
According to King-Hinds, it is her understanding that the phone call was recorded. Since it is still under investigation, King-Hinds is not at liberty to relay what was said in the recording.
The all-clear was declared at the airport at approximately 4:42pm.
This was not the first such bomb threat at the airport. CPA received a bomb threat from a caller threatening to blow up the Saipan airport on July 31, 2019. According to a statement by CPA, the FBI later determined that the threat was not credible.
In accordance with that plan, CPA notified its tenants and the FBI about the bomb threat, and CPA Ports Police immediately began its investigation. The Ports Police, aided by dog sniffers from the K-9 unit, searched the airport and found nothing suspicious.
