A Lufthansa flight was diverted to JFK Airport following a bomb threat, authorities said Monday night.
Port Authority Spokesperson Steve Coleman said Lufthansa received the phone threat while Lufthansa Flight 441 was traveling from Houston, Texas, to Frankfurt, Germany.
The pilot diverted to JFK and the plane landed safely, he said. Passengers were evacuating the aircraft at 9.30 p.m, and by 10 p.m. the aircraft was in a remote area being searched by a K-9 unit, government officials said.
Officials searched the plane and Coleman said nothing suspicious was found. In a tweet early Tuesday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that a search of the plane yielded nothing.
A senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News that 530 people were taken off the flight after the bomb threat was phoned in to their corporate office.
All passengers are off Lufthansa flight that diverted to JFK tonight due to a threat. Authorities are sweeping plane. Flight rescheduled.
— John F. Kennedy (@JFKairport) December 13, 2016
The pilot was notified of the threat and landed at JFK per standard procedure.
The law enforcement official said the Joint Terrorism Task Force was monitoring and re-screening the plane.
Meanwhile, Lufthansa tweeted that the flight was diverted "as a matter of precaution" and in coordination with relevant authorities and the pilot.
Local
The plane left Houston at 4.10 p.m. and was due to arrive in Frankfurt Tuesday morning.
"Passengers disembarked and [Lufthansa] staff will take care of them. The aircraft will be searched," the airline said.
JFK airport said no other flights were impacted by the plane's grounding.
