A Southwest Airlines flight in the US was the scene of a security scare on Friday evening, as authorities quickly responded to a potential threat on board. Passengers and social media users have since shared footage showing the rapid deployment of law enforcement officers on the aircraft.

The video, currently going viral on social media, flashes a prompt that reads “Bomb threat on Nashville flight,” and shows all passengers seated inside the aircraft raising their hands. Meanwhile, some police officers are seen walking in, wearing full tactical gear. Eventually, they walk up to a man, drag him out of his seat and handcuff him.

‘Islamophobic’ Laura Loomer shares ‘bomb scare’ video on X

Originally shared on TikTok, the video was further amplified by far-right influencer Laura Loomer on X. Taking to her official account, the staunch Donald Trump ally said that the Southwest Airlines flight was forced to divert to Atlanta after “an Arabic looking Muslim passenger onboard the plane threatened to blow the plane up with a bomb!”

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Loomer, who is a self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe,” raised calls for the deportation of all Muslims from America. “You can see the SWAT team apprehend the Muslim passenger while terrified passengers were forced to put their hands up,” she added on X.

Republican Congressman Brandon Gill, who has similarly spoken out against Islamic presence in the US, re-shared the video on the Elon Musk-led social media platform. “We don’t have to live like this,” he tweeted. “Mass Islamic migration is a choice, and it will turn America into a third world country.”

Republican US Representative Andy Ogles followed suit. Re-posting Laura’s tweet, he commented, “Congress must pass my Muslim Ban today!”

Calling the rise in flight threats “concerning,” retired Air Marshal Chris Ryan wrote on X, “Unfortunately there was no Air Marshal on Southwest Flight 2094. The pilots and crew followed procedures and diverted to Atlanta and got the plane safely on the ground. Cops boarded and one male passenger was detained and removed from the flight.”

Southwest flight diverted to Atlanta – What we know

According to Fox 5 Atlanta’s report, Southwest Airlines Flight 2094 was travelling from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale when it was forced to land at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday night.

The flight ultimately landed safely in Atlanta at approximately 9:06 pm. An initial statement from the airline indicated that the aircraft was diverted from its original path to Florida in response to a “possible security matter.”

In a report titled “No credible threat found after Southwest flight diverted to Atlanta,” Fox 5 Atlanta stated that officials have yet to confirm if any dangerous items were discovered on the flight in question.

A spokesman for Southwest later stated that passengers were rebooked to their original destinations, according to CBS News. The airline is said to have reached out to every single one of them and apologised for the incident.

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Who was the passenger in the viral US flight video?

Although Southwest Airlines confirmed in a statement that a specific passenger was forcibly removed from the flight by the Atlanta Police Department, US reports have yet to identify the individual.

The Atlanta Police Department has yet to release the status of the detained passenger. NBC 15 News, on the other hand, reported a single statement shared by the FBI, saying, “The FBI and APD have investigated and interviewed the person. There was no credible threat, and no charges will be filed.”

Sara Porter, a passenger on the flight, told CBS News, “The first time I knew that there was someone dangerous on the plane when the SWAT team came on a gunpoint.”

While Fox 5 Atlanta’s report offered no clarity on what the passenger did or said to trigger the police’s response, CBS News divulged that the flight’s captain told air traffic control (ATC) a man was acting “suspiciously.” According to the audio file shared by the news outlet, he is heard saying, “He had a timer going off every 10 minutes, foreign languages, worried about his bags.”