Airplane passengers deplaned after threat to blow up Myrtle Beach airport terminal
Passengers on planes at Myrtle Beach International Airport were deplaned Sunday after the airport received a call threatening to blow up one of the airport terminals.
Horry County Police searched three planes after a call was made about 8:15 p.m. from “what seemed to be an electronically manipulated male voice” that said, “B5 will blow up in 10 minutes,” according to a police report.
Police searched the B terminal and contacted all the pilots on the runway. There were three planes in the area: one was already loaded and pushed away from the gate area, another was loaded but still connected to the jetbridge, and another was empty, according to the report.
The pilots chose to deplane and have K-9 units search while passengers “were controlled in respective gates by HCPD,” the report said.
Flights that were affected were Avelo, which was already loaded and away from the gate area; Southwest, which was empty; and Allegiant, which was loaded but still connected to the jetbridge, the report said. A Breeze flight was in terminal A and had also been pushed back from the gate.
Each pilot decided to return their planes back to the gates for safety and have HCPD K9 unit to clear the planes.
Ryan Betcher, assistant director of airports for Horry County, said Monday that the threat proved not credible. However, police did a sweep of the airport with K-9 units.
Mikalya Moskov, spokesperson for Horry County, said by text that passengers were briefly deplaned and airplanes checked, and that there was no threat found. The threat was deemed not valid and normal activities resumed at the airport, she said.
There were no impacts to air traffic afterward, she said.
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 10:19 AM.
