ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Authorities say a disruptive passenger forced a Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles to land at the Albuquerque International Sunport between 6 and 7 p.m. Thursday.

Airport spokesman Daniel Jiron told the Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/1HJ84bv) that Sunport police arrested the passenger, who was traveling on Delta flight 81, once the plane landed.

Jiron tells the Journal that he doesn’t know the nature of the incident that made the pilot feel he had to land the plane.

He adds that the FBI was called and will decide whether what to do with the passenger and when the flight may resume course for Los Angeles.

New York (AFP) – Five Americans have been charged in connection with a plot to sell 153 guns and smuggle them into New York in carry-on bags on 17 commercial flights, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The airline security breach put hundreds of travelers at risk and was allegedly aided by a Delta Airlines agent in Atlanta, who carried the weapons past security checks, officials said.

Former Delta employee Mark Henry, 45, carried bags full of guns and ammunition on 17 flights from Atlanta to New York from May to December, said the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.

He and three other defendants have been charged in a 591-count indictment in Brooklyn that includes first-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which is punishable by up to 25 years.

A fifth man, Delta ramp agent Eugene Harvey, 31, was arrested in Georgia and arraigned in court on Monday, they added.

Chief culprit Henry was denied bail for his alleged role in the conspiracy to sell assault weapons, 9mm handguns and Glock pistols to an undercover NYPD detective in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors say Henry bought 10-20 guns at a time, mostly through a website, picked them up from sellers in Georgia and then flew to New York with the guns stashed in his luggage.

He allegedly boarded the two-hour flights at nominal cost by using his mother’s privileges as a retired Delta employee.

Henry was himself a former Delta employee from 2007 to 2010.

Delta said Tuesday that it was cooperating with the investigation.

“We take seriously any activity that fails to uphold our strict commitment to the safety and security of our customers and employees,” it said.

District attorney Ken Thompson warned the guns could have been used to shoot and kill residents and police officers in Brooklyn.

“In this age of terrorism, it is simply unthinkable that anyone would breach the security of our nation’s airports to smuggle guns and ammunition, including assault weapons, on commercial airliners and jeopardize countless lives all to make money,” said Thompson.

Two police officers were shot dead in broad daylight in Brooklyn on Saturday by a disturbed 28-year-old whom officers said had a clear anti-police bias and who earlier shot his ex-girlfriend.

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CHICAGO (AP) — Travelers setting out for the holidays could face trouble, with anticipated Christmas Eve snow around the Great Lakes states and heavy rain expected along the East Coast.

National Weather Service meteorologists predicted rain that would turn into snow for some parts of Missouri to Michigan, with several inches expected Wednesday in portions of Illinois. Officials at both airport hubs in Chicago readied for the potential of holiday delays and cancellations, particularly with more people expected to fly this year.

“I would definitely make plans about possibly staying put or doing something else,” said Chicago-area meteorologist Charles Mott. “Same for the roads. If you’re not going to fly, the roads are not going to be getting any better.”

About 4.2 million passengers are expected through O’Hare and Midway international airports during an 18-day holiday travel period ending Jan. 6, said Chicago Aviation Department spokeswoman Karen Pride. That would be a 3 percent increase at O’Hare and a 9 percent jump at Midway compared with last year. Pride urged travelers to allow plenty of time and monitor airlines closely.

On Tuesday, a storm system developed in the Gulf States, generating tornadoes that left four people dead, damaging some buildings and leaving thousands without power. It was expected to drop rain along the East Coast.

The severe weather caused some delays at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — though airport spokesman Reese McCranie said in an email he was not aware of any cancellations. He said the airport did not expect a ground stop.

Elsewhere, a blast of cold and snowy conditions affected travel Tuesday.

In Nevada, the National Weather Service says a strong cold front will move through the western part of the state Wednesday night into Thursday on the heels of record-high temperatures.

The heaviest snow is forecast after 4 p.m. Wednesday, with up to 10 inches expected on mountain passes by Thursday morning.

Dozens of flights in and out of Philadelphia International Airport were canceled and others saw delays of about two hours due to bad weather and low clouds.

In eastern Colorado, Interstate 70 was shut down into Kansas for eight hours because of strong winds and blowing snow. Farther west, blowing snow also led to part of U.S. Highway 285 being closed at some points Tuesday.

Parts of western South Dakota saw snow accumulations of a foot or more through Tuesday morning. Higher elevations in the Black Hills got close to 2 feet.

But not all winter enthusiasts were so lucky.

Snow isn’t expected in other parts of South Dakota until Friday. Sioux Falls resident Alana Amdahl said she’s disappointed about the lack of snow projected for Christmas.

“We live in South Dakota for a reason,” said Amdahl, 27. “We don’t have palm trees to put Christmas lights on, we have evergreens. Of course, we need snow. It can melt after the new year.”

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Follow Sophia Tareen at http://twitter.com/sophiatareen .

As the NYPD mourns two of its own, Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded for a pause in protests and rancor amid a widening rift with those in a grieving force who accuse him of creating a climate of mistrust that contributed to the executions of two officers. De Blasio called on Monday for a halt of political statements until after the funerals of the slain officers, an appeal to both sides in a roiling dispute centered on the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers.

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A Delta Airlines baggage handler is facing federal charges he helped put 18 firearms on a plane at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, WSB-TV, Atlanta, reported Monday. The station obtained an FBI affidavit indicating the employee helped another man smuggle the guns aboard a flight to New York’s Kennedy International Airport Dec. 10.

The complaint identifies the Delta employee as Eugene Harvey.

Harvey allegedly used a “buddy pass” to bypass Transportation Security Administration Security checkpoints to smuggle the guns aboard, WSB said. The complaint charges Harvey with smuggling 18 guns aboard the flight. It also says an undercover officer received 129 guns in all, including AK-47s and AR-15 assault weapons. However, it was unclear whether the remainder of the guns also were smuggled aboard, WSB said.

WSB said the charges were filed late Monday afternoon.

International Business Times was unable to reach Delta by phone for comment.

Travelers are barred from bringing firearms and other weapons aboard flights.

“Travelers may only transport unloaded firearms in a locked, hard-sided container as checked baggage. The container must be completely secured from being accessed. All firearms, ammunition and firearm parts, including firearm frames, receivers, clips and magazines are prohibited in carry-on baggage,” TSA rules state.

In 2013 TSA reported it had discovered 1,813 firearms in carry-on bags at checkpoints, an average of five a day, with Atlanta topping the list for most firearms intercepted at 111. TSA reported last week, it had detected more than 2,100 guns at airport checkpoints so far this year, eclipsing the 2013 total. One of 29 loaded guns seized last week was found in Atlanta.

NEW YORK, Dec. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Avatar New York, an award winning New York web design agency, details how Delta Airlines’ poor website security caused the data breach that allowed passengers to see information on other boarding passes.

Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141222/165831LOGO

A recent flaw in the design of the Delta Airlines website made it possible for passengers to view private information on other boarding passes by making a small change in the URL. Dani Grant, a security researcher, admitted that she was able to view boarding passes from passengers on other Delta flights, and some non-Delta flights, simply by changing some of the characters within the URL. She revealed she was even able to swap her boarding pass for one belonging to another passenger and switch their seat.

Todd Johnson, managing director of Avatar New York, a leading New York web design company, says though the problem has since been corrected, it represents a larger problem in web development. “Data breaches like this are entirely preventable,” he says. “Web developers must make security a priority, especially when the site is handling personal information, such as credit card numbers, names, addresses, and itineraries. This means creating a unique and intelligent identification scheme to thwart hackers.”

For a big brand like Delta, the situation could have been far more disastrous, Johnson explains. “Hackers and criminals prey on websites with security weaknesses,” he says. “Playing around with URLs is a common way for hackers to access other pages and private information. Identifiers in URLs must change to form unique web pages each time. This is something developers should test on a regular basis to ensure the site is completely secure.”

Avatar New York is an innovating, award winning New York web design firm dedicated to providing clients with responsive websites that help grow brands and convert visitors to customers. With an expertise in web development, branding, cloud hosting, mobile app development, and CMS and e-commerce solutions, Avatar New York’s top tier designers have the ability to create intelligent websites for any type of business.

Media Contact: Todd Johnson, Avatar New York, 646-736-6713, sales.s@avatarnewyork.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

The lid’s been blown on a gun-smuggling operation at Delta Airlines in the US.

Baggage handler Eugene Harvey is accused of using his security clearance to provide guns to a passenger.

Correspondent Emma Dallimore told Newstalk ZB’s Tim Dower the man’s accomplice was discovered to have boarded a plane in Atlanta with 18 guns in his carry-on luggage.

He’s accused of bringing guns on five flights and on-selling them in New York.

“It’s alleged they supplied a total of 129 handguns and two assault rifles to people in New York.

“It all came undone for them when one of those co-conspirators sold a gun to an undercover police officer.”

Dallimore says Delta Airlines baggage handler Eugene Harvey is at the centre of the allegations.

“His accomplice managed to board a flight in Atlanta with 18 guns and ammunition in his carry on bag – seven of those guns were loaded.”

Emma Dallimore says that passenger, Mark Henry, smuggled firearms in his carry-on luggage on five different flights, before on-selling them on the streets of New York.

Federal authorities say an Atlanta airline employee is suspected of helping smuggle firearms to New York City on passenger jets.

FBI spokesman Stephen Emmett said Monday that Delta baggage handler Eugene Harvey was arrested by federal agents without trouble.

An FBI affidavit says Mark Quentin Henry, a former Delta employee who was fired in 2010, was arrested in New York on Dec. 10 in a gun trafficking investigation after an undercover agent bought a gun from one of his accomplices.

“Security is only as good as the people providing that security,” said Manny Gomez, a security expert.

And it seems there is a major security loophole for Delta flights from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to JFK Airport in Queens.

Earlier this month, investigators in New York arrested a Delta baggage handler, Harvey, who allegedly arranged for the transport of 18 firearms and ammunition inside a carry-on bag, seven of those guns were loaded.

“People have to be policed. There have to be several levels of security and protection so that this doesn’t occur again. This was way too easily done,” Gomez said.

“Security, you have to take everything off. They double check your bags. He must have known somebody on the inside,” said Allister Gibbs, an airline traveler.

Investigators say the Delta employee somehow got the weapons past security, then used a men’s bathroom to hand off the bag of firearms to a ticketed “gun-runner”. The armed passenger then boarded Delta flight 2352 and flew from Atlanta to New York.

On December 10th, authorities arrested the gun-runner who then shared the details of the gun trafficking operation.

“It doesn’t inspire confidence in the people who are monitoring this,” said Adam Rankin, an airline traveler.

An airlines spokesperson issued a statement saying, “Delta is cooperating with authorities in this investigation. We take seriously any activity that fails to uphold our strict commitment to the safety and security of our customers and employees.”

Authorities investigated Henry’s cellphone, airport surveillance video and security records and determined that he conspired with Harvey to get the firearms past security.

The FBI affidavit says there is probable cause to charge Harvey with trafficking firearms, aiding and abetting and more. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

Five people have been indicted in an alleged smuggling ring that transported guns, many of them loaded, on Delta Airlines flights to New York City.

The Brooklyn District Attorney says that from May to December of this year former Delta employee Mark Henry took about 20 flights, carrying guns on them, from Atlanta Hartsfield Airport to both JFK and LaGuardia Airports.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson holds up one of the weapons allegedly smuggled on Delta flights.

Henry and three other men are under arrest, including Eugene Harvey – a baggage handler and gate agent for Delta, who used his security clearance to enter restricted areas and hand off the guns.

Surveillance video shows on December 10th, 18 guns, 7 of them loaded, were snuck past security in Atlanta.

Prosecutors say at least 129 handguns and assault rifles, including an AK 47 were smuggled. Some of them were displayed at a news conference on Tuesday.

They say Henry has been smuggling guns on commercial airliners for at least 5 years.

“Security is only as good as the people providing that security,” said Manny Gomez, a security expert. “People have to be policed. There have to be several levels of security and protection so that this doesn’t occur again. This was way too easily done,” Gomez said.

Investigators say the Delta employee somehow got the weapons past security, then used a men’s bathroom to hand off the bag of firearms to a ticketed “gun-runner”. The armed passenger then boarded Delta flight 2352 and flew from Atlanta to New York.

On December 10th, authorities arrested the gun-runner who then shared the details of the gun trafficking operation.

“It doesn’t inspire confidence in the people who are monitoring this,” said Adam Rankin, an airline traveler.

An airlines spokesperson issued a statement saying, “Delta is cooperating with authorities in this investigation. We take seriously any activity that fails to uphold our strict commitment to the safety and security of our customers and employees.”

Authorities investigated Henry’s cellphone, airport surveillance video and security records and determined that he conspired with Harvey to get the firearms past security.

The FBI affidavit says there is probable cause to charge Harvey with trafficking firearms, aiding and abetting and more. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)