Anchorage Airport, currently claiming to be the world’s busiest airport, has reopened for incoming flights after a security incident on May 2, 2020. A cargo flight, bound to Asia, diverted to the airport because of a bomb threat, earlier in the day.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), in Alaska, the United States, has now reopened after a temporary closure. It was closed after an Asia-bound cargo flight diverted to it on May 2, 2020. The plane was searched in a secure, remote section of the airport. 

It appears that it was a China Airlines Boeing 747 freighter that received a bomb threat. On the day, the aircraft was carrying out the cargo flight CI5261 from Seattle (SEA) to Taipei (TPE). However, around two and a half hours into the journey, the plane diverted to Anchorage (ANC), where it landed at 13 UTC. 

During the incident, flights were encouraged to divert to Fairbanks International Airport (FAI). One of them happened to be Antonov-225 Mriya, which was carrying out cargo flight ADB381F from Montreal (YMX). 

FBI and Anchorage Police were called to the scene and are leading the investigation, as outlined in the statement by the airport.

Anchorage Airport announced that it became the world’s busiest airport for aircraft operations on April 25, 2020. “This points to how significantly the global aviation system has changed and highlights the significance of our role in the global economy and fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” its statement read. Prior to the pandemic, which grounded most passenger flights, but heightened the need for cargo operations, ANC was already one of the busiest cargo airports.