Southwest flight bound for Texas grounded after telephoned threat

A plane that left Los Angeles International Airport bound for Austin, Texas, was diverted Monday afternoon after a bomb threat was made to the aircraft midflight.

Southwest Flight 2675 left LAX just after 2 p.m. and was scheduled to make a stop in Phoenix before continuing to Austin.

Instead, it was diverted and landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, according to a statement by FBI officials in Los Angeles.

“The flight landed safely at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and the aircraft is being directed to an isolated area at the airport,” said Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI’s L.A. office.

Law enforcement sources familiar with the situation said the aircraft was about an hour into its flight when officials at LAX received a threat by telephone. The threat was specific to the flight and made a vague reference to the Taliban.

Eimiller said the FBI and other law enforcement officials were examining the aircraft and that an investigation was underway to determine who was behind the threat.

An announcement on Sky Harbor airport’s Facebook page said the active investigation was restricting takeoffs and landings on the airport’s two southern runways, causing some delays.

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christine.maiduc@latimes.com

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com