Passenger jet returns after bomb threat

A passenger jet flying from New York to Morocco was ordered to return to the US after receiving a bomb threat, authorities said.

The Boeing 767 landed safely yesterday at Bangor International Airport in the north-eastern state of Maine, officials said.

Royal Air Maroc’s Flight 201 took off from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport at 7pm local time yesterday (midnight Irish time today) and was headed for Morocco when it received a bomb threat, said Mark Hatfield, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Administration.

The plane was in the air roughly two hours, he said.

The spokesman said the bomb threat apparently was made by a passenger on the plane, but he gave no details. He said passengers would be interviewed and baggage screened.

There were conflicting reports on the number of people aboard the plane. Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said 82 passengers and 10 crew members were on the plane.

Mr Hatfield said his reports indicated there were 79 passengers.