01 June 2026 , 11:55
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A United Airlines plane heading to Spain from Newark Liberty International Airport turned back mid-flight on Saturday due to a potential security threat.
This occurred one day after another United Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis from Chicago was diverted to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday because an unruly passenger apparently attempted to breach the cockpit.
Saturday’s flight took off at around 6pm for Palma de Mallorca, Spain, but returned to Newark Liberty at 9:37pm, according to the airport’s operator, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The airline stated there were 190 passengers and 12 crew members onboard the Boeing 767 aircraft.
According to air traffic control audio, security was called to inspect the aircraft after someone renamed their Bluetooth device to a “certain four-letter word”. A passenger posting on social media said crew members repeatedly asked passengers to turn off all Bluetooth devices – but two of them remained on. The flight turned around after consulting with the airline’s headquarters in Chicago.
Passengers had to evacuate as Port Authority police searched the aircraft. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers re-screened passengers before allowing them to board again.
The airline declined to provide details on the cause of the incident.
Passengers boarded a replacement flight with a new crew, which departed early on Sunday morning and arrived in Palma in the afternoon.
This was at least the third major aviation incident involving a United Airlines flight in four weeks.
On 3 May, an airline flight landing at Newark Liberty collided with a light pole and a delivery truck, according to authorities. The truck’s driver had minor injuries. No one else was reported injured.
World Affairs Correspondent