Sun Country flight from Minneapolis to Mazatlan diverted due to “security concern,” officials say

A plane flying out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport had to be diverted Wednesday afternoon due to a security concern, flight officials say.

Sun Country Airlines says Flight SY593 flying from MSP to Mazatlán International Airport had to be diverted “out of an abundance of caution in response to a security concern.”

The flight was diverted to El Paso International Airport in Texas.

According to FlightAware, the flight departed from Minneapolis at 2:21 p.m. CST and landed in El Paso at 4:25 p.m. MST. Two pilots, four flight attendants and 150 passengers were on board.

Sun Country reports the plane — a Boeing 737-800 — landed without incident and all passengers exited safely. Customers were provided with overnight accommodation and will likely be transported to their final destination on Thursday.

“We apologize to our passengers and all those affected by this situation, but safety and security are our highest priorities,” a spokesperson for Sun Country said. “We will do everything to minimize this disruption and get travelers to their destination as quickly and safely as possible.”

Sun County says it is working with law enforcement to investigate the situation and the validity of the concern.

The FBI confirmed personnel responded to the scene in El Paso and are assisting in the investigation but could not give any further information as to what happened.

The flight was originally scheduled to take off at 11 a.m., but it was among hundreds of flights at MSP that were delayed after several inches of heavy snow fell overnight in the Twin Cities.