November 4, 2025 , Washington, D.C. — A bomb threat against a United Airlines flight arriving from Houston prompted a full ground stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) late Tuesday morning, halting all flight operations for nearly two hours.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the sequence of events in a post on X (formerly Twitter):
“Earlier today a United flight from Houston to Washington, D.C. received a bomb threat. The flight landed safely at DCA, passengers were evacuated, and law enforcement conducted a full search of the aircraft. The @FAANews has received the all clear and operations have resumed. I want to thank our brave men and women in law enforcement for their quick response.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had earlier said it was “aware of a reported security issue on an aircraft at Reagan Washington National Airport.” The agency confirmed that passengers had been removed and the aircraft moved to a remote area while authorities conducted an investigation.
The Reagan Washington National Airport added that “all flight operations are being held while passengers on a United Airlines flight are being offloaded and bussed to the terminal.”
The Flight: UA 512 from Houston
The aircraft involved was United Airlines Flight 512, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating from Houston Intercontinental (IAH) to Washington Reagan National (DCA). It departed at 7:49 a.m. CT and landed safely at 11:20 a.m. ET, before being directed to a remote area on the east side of the airfield as emergency vehicles surrounded the plane.
In an audio clip shared by NBC Washington reporter [Joseph Olmo], a controller can be heard instructing the crew to move farther from the terminal, citing “an unconfirmed report” related to the aircraft.
Emergency vehicles surrounded the plane soon after. Passengers were transferred to waiting buses and taken to the terminal.
ATC and Ground Stop Details
An Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) advisory placed a ground stop in effect from 11:18 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET, listing “Other / Security” as the impacting condition.
Flight-tracking data from AirNav Radar showed multiple aircraft holding south of DCA and several diversions to during the pause in operations.
All Clear and Resumption
The runways reopened at 12:50 p.m. ET.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police are conducting a thorough investigation with the assistance of multiple law enforcement partners, as confirmed by Reagan National.
Authorities have not released details about the origin of the threat or whether any suspects have been identified.
This is a developing story. The Aviation Brief will update as new information emerges.
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