Bomb Threat at New York Airport Forces Passengers Off Delta Flight

Passengers were forced off a Delta Airlines flight Tuesday night after crew members reported a bomb threat just before takeoff.

Here's what went down -- the Minneapolis-bound flight from LaGuardia Airport was preparing to depart Terminal C around 8 PM when the alert was raised, Port Authority police tell TMZ. The plane was swiftly moved away from the gate and passengers deboarded.

A passenger tells TMZ ... the pilot announced there would be a delay, but that no one was in danger. They also noticed an individual escorted from their seat before the rest of the passengers were removed.

Soon after, emergency vehicles surrounded the aircraft and authorities hopped into action to search it. No threat was found, and the plane was cleared around 10 PM.

Jason Matheson of Fox's "The Jason Show" was on the plane and documented ordeal from the tarmac on Instagram after he was evacuated. He said passengers were told there was a "security issue" but were not given further information.

Both Jason and our source told us Delta kept them in the dark about the threat ... and the TV host said they were still unaware of the full picture when they were ordered to go back through security.

We're told passengers were re-booked onto a new 7 AM flight for Wednesday morning.

Delta also confirmed the incident to TMZ, adding ... "The safety and security of our customers and employees comes before all else and we apologize for the delay in their travels."

This was the second bomb threat at a major U.S. airport in a day -- Tuesday morning, another plane was searched at Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia.

Luckily, this incident had the same outcome -- police gave the all clear.

Both bomb threats came during a tense day at the polls for several states, and as America's government clocked its longest freeze ever.