Passenger at Tweed Airport arrested after making comment about bomb: officials

A passenger at Tweed New Haven Airport was arrested after making a remark about having a bomb in his bag while boarding a flight heading to North Carolina on Thursday morning, according to airport officials.

That led to the plane and the terminal being evacuated for a security sweep and a delay of all flights.

Airport officials said it was around 11 a.m. when one passenger on Avelo Flight 295 to Charlotte-Concord overheard another passenger making a remark about having a bomb in his bag.

The man was placing his luggage in the overhead compartment when he said, "I hope that's not a bomb" in reference to another passenger's bag. He also said, "I hope we don't crash, there has been a lot of plane crashes lately," according to police.

Authorities were immediately alerted and the passenger accused of making the comment, a 31-year-old Fairfield man, was detained, along with his belongings.

NHPD made an arrest of an individual boarding a plane at Tweed who was making comments about a bomb. The plane was deboarded out of an abundance of caution. No devices were found, no threats were made and there are no on going safety concerns. Normal operations are resuming.

— New Haven Police Department (@NHPDnews) February 13, 2025

No bomb was found during a security sweep, officials said.

“The investigation confirmed that no bomb was present, and the remark—though made sarcastically—disrupted airport operations and the safety of its passengers,” airport officials said in a statement.

New Haven police said they arrested the passenger who made the remarks.

The plane was in the process of loading passengers, but hadn't yet completed its final flight preparations, police said.

Airport officials said he was charged with breach of peace in the second degree and held on $10,000 bond.

Police said he acknowledged that he made “a stupid comment about a bomb and plane crashes.”

Normal operations have since resumed.