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Last night, areas of a terminal at Dallas-Fort Worth International – one of the busier hub airports in the U.S. – were evacuated and flights were delayed after a bomb threat was made to an American Airlines plane. No bomb was found.

What if Your Flight is Canceled or Delayed?

American, Air Canada Flights Targeted

According to the TSA, a threat was also made to an Air Canada flight heading to Houston’s George Bush airport, but that too was deemed a hoax. This has been a busy year for air travel threats. Fortunately, they have been just that – threats only – but it has resulted in delayed and diverted flights, evacuated airports and untold inconvenience for passengers and crews alike.

Two Flights from Hell

Noted Air Travel Threats of 2012

Bomb threats seem to be most common air travel disruptions, but others have involved meals that were either tampered with or tainted through some other means, plus problems with crew members and passengers.

A few of the year’s highlights, so far:

• Aug. 1 – San Antonio airport evacuated, no bomb found
• Aug. 1 – United flight to Geneva diverted due to unattended camera
• July 31 – Denver airport receives threat, nothing found
• July 29 – Passenger allegedly threatens crew on Spirit flight, is removed from plane
• July 17 – Needles found in sandwiches aboard Delta flight
• May 8 – Southwest plane at Orange County airport is searched for bomb, no bomb found
• May 6 – Bomb threat to Miami airport, no bomb found
• April 4 – Delta flight attendant removed from flight for alleged odd behavior
• March 27 – JetBlue pilot suffers breakdown, plane is diverted
• Feb. 13 – Flights delayed out of Amsterdam’s airport due to bomb threat, no bomb found
• Jan. 30 – News reports alleged TSA officers at Newark failed to screen bags

Air Travel Threats of Yesteryear

Although the above may seem like more than enough incidents, older travelers will remember aircraft hijackings of the 1960′s which ultimately ushered in the era of metal detectors in airports – 1969 alone saw 82 hijackings, with eight planes hijacked to Cuba in the month of January alone.

All of which pales in significance to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 – which ushered in the era of the TSA.