NEW YORK _ A flight from Houston to Frankfurt, Germany, was diverted to Kennedy Airport when the airline received a credible bomb threat by telephone Monday night, authorities said.
All 530 people onboard Lufthansa Airlines Flight 441 were safely taken off the plane shortly after the aircraft landed at Kennedy Airport, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said.
The Port Authority said Tuesday morning that Port Authority police "swept" luggage, cargo and the plane, an Airbus 380, with negative results and that all passengers were lodged at local hotels and rebooked on alternative flights.
The incident did not impact flight operations at Kennedy.
The pilot of the plane landed at Kennedy after the threat came in shortly about 8 p.m., Coleman said.
In a statement, a Lufthansa spokeswoman said the flight was diverted to Kennedy Airport "as a matter of precaution and in coordination with the relevant authorities and the pilot."
The spokeswoman, Christina Semmel, wrote that the flight "landed safely in New York City at 8:34 p.m." and said the passengers then were shuttled to the terminal.
The airline said "the safety and security of our passengers, crew and aircraft are always our highest priority."
