A TRANSATLANTIC flight made an emergency landing after a threat was received.

The US Airways plane with 179 people on board from Shannon in Ireland touched down safely at ­Philadelphia International Airport yesterday.

Details of the threat have not been revealed by US police.

A Philadelphia Police Department spokesman said: "There was some type of threat made, but nothing specified.

Airline spokesman Andrew Christie said flight 777 landed safely and without incident at its intended destination at around 2pm local time."

"We were aware of a ­possible security issue with the flight and out of an ­abundance of caution taxied the aircraft to a remote ­location, where it was met by law enforcement and emergency personnel.

A number of fire trucks, police vehicles and at least three airport buses on scene.

The 171 passengers and eight crew members left the plane by the stairs and were taken to the terminal by bus.

Passengers were isolated and screened. Their luggage was also screened.

Operations at Philadelphia International Airport, which is one of the country's busiest hubs, later returned to normal.

In a similar incident in August 2011, 157 ­passengers and crew aboard a US Airways flight that had arrived at the airport from Glasgow were taken off after a threatening note was found.

The jet was swept by law enforcement and Bomb sniffing dogs went through the luggage, which was taken out of the plane placed on the runway.