ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO), deputies are currently investigating a potential bomb threat made on an Allegiant Airlines flight.
Deputies said Flight 1023 declared an emergency and came back to the St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE) at around 2 p.m. Sunday.
PCSO said a man, one of the passengers, is in custody.
The airport remained open, and there have been no reported injuries, according to deputies. 170 passengers were deplaned and evacuated.
At around 3:55 p.m., ABC Action News received this update from Allegiant Airlines:
"Earlier today, shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern Time, a passenger caused a disruption on board Allegiant Flight 1023, en route from PIE to Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport," said Andrew Porrello, with Allegiant Media Relations. "Allegiant does not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind. The aircraft returned to the airport, where it landed safely. Law enforcement met the aircraft and took the passenger into custody. The plane returned to the gate where all passengers and crew are currently deplaning. Unfortunately, the crew are reaching their FAA-mandated time limits, so we must re-crew the flight. Once that is done, the flight will continue to its destination. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our passengers."
This is a developing story. Any new information will be updated in this article and on our social media platforms.
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