Fighter jets escort US airliners after bomb threat

Washington:  A pair of F-16 fighter jets escorted two US commercial airliners to their landing in Atlanta on Saturday following a bomb threat online, an aviation spokesman said.

A threat posted to Twitter prompted the jets to be scrambled for the planes arriving from Portland and Milwaukee, said Preston Schlachter from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

A Twitter user made threats earlier in the afternoon regarding smuggling bombs aboard the aircrafts.

Schlachter described the escort as a "precautionary measure," and said the planes landed safely.