Security heightened at airports across the country for record 43 million Americans traveling for Fourth of July weekend… as storms in mid-Atlantic threaten firework displays and parades
Pro-ISIS Twitter account threatened attacks at JFK and LAX airports, as well as London Heathrow
Government revealed there will be ‘enhanced security presence’ at airports, train stations, other transit centers
Airports will also employ VIPR teams – made up of behavior detection officers, explosive experts and air marshals
Tornado alert was issued on Friday in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont
More than 3,000 flights were grounded on Friday night, many in the Northeast, due to severe weather
Dry weather will bring perfect firework conditions for Northeast, but thunderstorms will hit mid-Atlantic
By Anneta Konstantinides and Mia De Graaf
Dailymail.com
2 July 2016
The storms have settled and the sunshine is out across the Northeast just a day after tornado warnings hampered millions of American’s Fourth of July travel plans.
More than 3,000 flights were grounded on Friday night and 700 were cancelled as severe weather left millions of families waiting hours in airport departure lounges as they tried to jet off on holiday.
Travel woes were compounded by threats from a pro-ISIS Twitter account warning of attacks at London Heathrow, LAX and New York’s JFK airports.
But by Saturday the dust seemed to have settled.
Only 325 delays and six cancellations were scheduled at major US airports from between 10am and 2pm, according to data from FlightAware.
The numbers stand in stark contrast to the 900 delayed flights and 100 cancellations that hit airports across the country between 7pm and 11pm last night, with Newark, Atlanta, JFK and LAX among the hardest hit.
A number of flights were grounded in the Northeast after a tornado alert was issued until 10pm on Friday in New York and parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.
As the weather remains bright outside, security will continued to ramp up in airports throughout the holiday weekend as a record 43 million Americans are expected to travel – the busiest Independence Day weekend on record.
It comes just days after a recent terrorist attack at the Istanbul airport in Turkey let 43 people dead and injured hundreds more.
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