--- description: Airlines take the online threats seriously, even when they're likely pranks title: Airlines: Fake Twitter Bomb Threats Pose Big Problem image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2e989398b498c5f/69877c4f428a9e75ffcc6d6c/american-airlines.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Fake Twitter Bomb Threats to Airlines On the Rise  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 12:46 PM CUT  MIAMI, FL - FEBRUARY 07: An American Airlines plane is seen at the Miami International Airport on February 7, 2013 in Miami, Florida. Reports indicate that a deal between American Airlines and US Airways to merge may be set for early next week. If the deal goes through it would create the world's biggest airline. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) MIAMI, FL - FEBRUARY 07: An American Airlines plane is seen at the Miami International Airport on February 7, 2013 in Miami, Florida. Reports indicate that a deal between American Airlines and US Airways to merge may be set for early next week. If the deal goes through it would create the world's biggest airline. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Joe Raedle—Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 12:46 PM CUT Airline bomb threats on Twitter have disrupted at least [sixteen flights in the past five days](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/01/27/twitter-threats-to-flights/22395967/ "undefined"), prompting new concerns about aviation security — and the way pranksters can cause serious trouble with social media. Most recently, an American Airlines flight landed in Chicago safely Tuesday after a tweet claiming to be from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) claimed there was a bomb on board, _USA Today_ reports. That same day, another (now suspended) Twitter account called @RansomTheThug also claimed there was a bomb aboard a United Airlines flight that had already been canceled days earlier due to blizzard concerns. “In terms of the quantity of threats we’re seeing now, you just haven’t seen it,” Glen Winn, former head of security at United Airlines and Northwest Airlines, said. But as was the case with the 14-year-old Dutch girl who threatened American Airlines as a joke last year, not every tweet is serious. “In the history of aviation sabotage, I don’t believe there’s ever been a threat called in where there’s actually been a bomb,” Douglas Laird, a former security director at Northwest Airlines, said. Still, all threats are taken seriously and evaluated by airline security according to confidential criteria. Airlines are also required to report threats to Transportation Security Administration. \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/01/27/twitter-threats-to-flights/22395967/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3685595/airline-security-twitter-threats/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3685595/airline-security-twitter-threats/"},"headline":"Fake Twitter Bomb Threats to Airlines On the Rise","datePublished":"2015-01-28T12:46:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:56:08.960Z","description":"Tweeted threats have disrupted at least sixteen flights in the past five days","url":"https://time.com/3685595/airline-security-twitter-threats/","keywords":["Social Media","Transportation","Airlines","twitter","Terrorism","Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2e989398b498c5f/69877c4f428a9e75ffcc6d6c/american-airlines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2e989398b498c5f/69877c4f428a9e75ffcc6d6c/american-airlines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"American Airlines","caption":"An American Airlines plane is seen at the Miami International Airport in Miami in 2013.","creditText":"Joe Raedle—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3685595/airline-security-twitter-threats/","name":"Fake Twitter Bomb Threats to Airlines On the Rise"}}]}] ```