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Heres Why A Newark Flight To Spain Had To Turn Around Over The Atlantic
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Here's why a Newark flight to Spain had to turn around over the Atlantic

May 31, 2026 Catalina Gonella Gothamist

A United Airlines flight bound for Spain turned around over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday night after a suspicious Bluetooth device name triggered a security scare aboard the aircraft, according to passenger accounts and airline officials.

Here's why a Newark flight to Spain had to turn around over the Atlantic. A United Airlines flight bound for Spain turned around over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday night after a suspicious Bluetooth device name triggered a security scare aboard the aircraft, according to passenger accounts and airline officials. Flight 236 departed Newark Liberty International Airport around 6 p.m. Saturday for what was supposed to be an eight-hour journey to Palma de Mallorca. About two hours into the flight, concerns over a Bluetooth device with a suspicious name prompted the aircraft to return to Newark, the Associated Press reported. A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said the flight, carrying 190 passengers and 12 crew members, landed back in New Jersey at 9:37 p.m. It took off again and eventually landed in Spain hours later tha...