Security incident forces temporary closure

SPOKANE - One suspect is in airport police custody after a security incident onboard an Alaska Airlines aircraft. The aircraft was enroute from Atlanta to Seattle on July 5.

The flight was diverted to Spokane International Airport, and safely landed at 5:15 p.m. according to a press release from the airport. The passengers and flight crew have been safely offloaded.

This emergency forced the temporary closure of all activities at the airport.

“The airport initiated closure meaning all flight activity was temporarily suspended,” said Todd Woodard spokesman for the airport.

Airport staff exercised the emergency plan in coordination with their partners from the FBI, Spokane Police and Fire Departments, Spokane County Sheriff’s office and the Transportation Security Administration.

The airport reopened aviation operations at 6:45 p.m.

Author Bio

Matthew Stephens, Reporter

Matthew graduated from West Virginia University-Parkersburg in 2011 with a journalism degree. He's an award-winning photographer and enjoys writing stories about people.