Bomb threat forces flight to Florida to return back to Panama City

PANAMA CITY - A Copa airline flight bound for Tampa, Florida, returned to Panama City’s international airport Friday following a bomb threat, the country’s civil aviation authority said.

The Boeing 737-800 landed at Tocumen International Airport at around 11 a.m. local time and moved to an isolated stretch of the tarmac, where 144 passengers were taken off the plane, Panama’s Civil Aeronautics Authority said on the social media platform X.

An anti-explosives team began inspecting the aircraft.