In the early hours of Wednesday, a United Airlines flight en route to Los Angeles from Honolulu was forced to circle back due to a security concern. According to information from NBC Los Angeles, Flight 1169 landed back at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu around 1:35 a.m. local time. The turnback was a response to a message scrawled on a lavatory mirror, prompting an immediate reversal of the Boeing 777, which was packed with 339 passengers.
As reported by CBS News Los Angeles, a passenger on the flight, Avery Sarzo, revealed that the message in question was a bomb threat. The aircraft was thoroughly searched by law enforcement officers after passengers safely disembarked in Honolulu, although, as of the morning, no suspects had been identified nor any materials found on board the aircraft.
United Airlines issued a statement confirming the incident and stating their commitment to customer care. "United flight 1169 from Honolulu to Los Angeles returned safely to Honolulu after a potential security concern was found written on a lavatory mirror," said the United Airlines spokesperson, according to a statement obtained by NBC Los Angeles. "Law enforcement met the aircraft, and a security sweep was conducted. We are rebooking customers on another flight to Los Angeles that departs later this evening," they added.
Details of what exactly the message stated were not disclosed. Yet, KTLA confirmed that the Boeing 777 experienced a sharp about-face roughly an hour and a half after takeoff, as observed from flight tracking data. This incident followed the same day as a separate security issue, where a 35-year-old man made a false bomb threat on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from San Diego to Honolulu, leading to an extensive delay and evacuation of that plane.
The airline has been working diligently to accommodate the affected travelers. "We are rebooking customers on another flight to Los Angeles that departs later this evening," a spokesperson for United Airlines commented, according to KTLA.
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