Military jets escort airliners

 Fighter jets escorted two flights – one to New York City, another to Denver – after passengers’ use of the bathrooms aroused suspicions Sunday, the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

 On a Los Angeles-to-New York American Airlines flight, three passengers made repeated trips to the bathroom, officials said. The three were cleared after the plane landed safely at New York’s Kennedy Airport.

 Earlier, on a Denver-to-Detroit Frontier Airlines flight, the crew reported that two people were spending “an extraordinarily long time” in a bathroom, Frontier spokesman Peter Kowalchuck said. Police detained three passengers at Detroit’s Metropolitan Airport after the plane landed without incident. They were released after questioning.

 In both instances, the FBI said the jets shadowed the planes “out of an abundance of caution.”

 “In our eyes, it’s a big nothing,” American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said.

Associated Press