The Kansas City International Airport terminal reopened Sunday afternoon, hours after authorities evacuated roughly 2,000 passengers while the FBI investigated a potential threat. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau reviewed the threat and determined it “not to be credible.”
The incident shut the terminal for about two hours, disrupting flights and drawing public statements from both the FBI director and the U.S. transportation secretary. No arrests were announced.
The Kansas City International Airport terminal reopened Sunday afternoon after the FBI declared a potential threat not credible, ending a roughly two-hour evacuation that sent about 2,000 passengers onto the tarmac.
Airport spokesperson Jackson Overstreet said in an email shortly after 2 p.m. that the terminal had reopened. The threat surfaced around 11:15 a.m. Flights that landed after the evacuation began were held on the taxiway during the shutdown, Overstreet said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media Sunday afternoon that the bureau had reviewed the threat and determined it “not to be credible.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a separate social media post that the incident was clear and “normal operations are resuming.”
Logan Hawley, 29, said he was at the terminal waiting to board a flight to Texas when he noticed a swarm of police and K9 units inside.
“Suddenly there was an airport worker saying, ‘Immediately evacuate.’ People got up fast and rushed out of there,” Hawley said. He said the group of roughly 2,000 people were ushered onto the tarmac.
The Kansas City Aviation Department did not specify the nature of the threat in its public communications. No arrests were announced in connection with the incident.