A transatlantic United Airlines flight traveling from New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was forced to abort its journey and turn back to its origin airport on Saturday following an unexpected potential security threat that unfolded thousands of feet in the air.
According to official records from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the flight departed Newark just after 6 p.m. local time, but safely touched down back at its departure gate at 9:37 p.m. the same evening. The wide-body Boeing 767 aircraft carried 190 passengers and a 12-member crew, airline officials confirmed.
Records from air traffic control audio reveal the root of the security alert: a passenger’s Bluetooth device was labeled with a provocative four-letter threat term. Multiple onboard reports shared on social media indicate that flight crew repeatedly made announcements asking all passengers to power down their personal Bluetooth connections, yet two devices remained active and detectable throughout the cabin. After coordinating directly with United’s Chicago-based corporate headquarters, the flight crew made the decision to divert back to Newark as a precaution.
Once the jet landed, all passengers and crew were immediately evacuated to allow Port Authority police K-9 and inspection teams to conduct a full sweep of the aircraft for potential hazards. Every traveler was required to go through a complete secondary security screening by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection agents before being allowed to board a replacement aircraft. United Airlines initially declined to share detailed specifics about the incident to avoid compromising security protocols.
Passengers eventually boarded a substitute flight operated by an entirely new crew, which departed Newark in the early hours of Sunday and reached its destination in Palma de Mallorca without further incident that same afternoon.
This incident marks the third notable disruption for United Airlines flights originating or landing at Newark Liberty International Airport within a single month. Just one day before the Bluetooth scare, on Friday, a separate domestic United flight was diverted to an alternate airport due to a security risk triggered by an unruly passenger. Earlier in the same month, a United flight landing at Newark collided with a parked semitrailer truck and a runway light pole, though that incident resulted in no reported injuries to passengers or ground crew.