Airport evacuated after 9 bomb threats

Bishop International Airport and two planes on the ground were evacuated for several hours Wednesday after nine bomb threats were phoned in, authorities said.

The evacuation began shortly after the threats were called in to the airport's rescue department about 5 p.m., said Tad Hutcheson, vice president of marketing for AirTran Airways, the airport's biggest carrier.

Norm Brewer, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman in Washington, said shortly before 9 p.m. that operations at the airport had returned to normal.

Brewer said he did not know whether any bombs were found or whether there were any suspects or arrests.

Airport spokeswoman Pat Corfman said four or five flights had to be diverted.

Items compiled from Tribune news services.

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