Beijing ( CNN ) -- An unspecified threat forced a New York-bound Air China flight to return to Beijing on Wednesday seven hours after takeoff , the airline said . `` Due to threatening information received about flight CA 981 , to ensure the safety of passengers , this flight has returned to Beijing Capital International Airport , '' the Chinese flag carrier said in a terse statement posted online . The flight took off at 1:30 p.m. ( 1:30 a.m . ET ) Wednesday and was scheduled to land at John . F. Kennedy International Airport in New York at 2:20 p.m. the same day . Instead , it turned around midair and returned to Beijing at 8:26 p.m. Wednesday , according to the airline 's website . Police were called in to investigate but found nothing suspicious , the airport authority said in statements posted online . State media also quoted police as saying the initial warning of the threat came from U.S. authorities . The flight took off again at 12:31 a.m. Thursday and is expected to arrive in New York at 12:45 a.m. the same day , according to the airline 's website . Beijing-based Air China did not reveal the nature of the threat or the number of passengers and crew members on board its Boeing 747 jumbo jet . The aircraft seats up to 344 passengers in the carrier 's configuration , and it is peak travel season between China and the United States . Messages and photos posted on Chinese social-media sites showed passengers and their luggage being rescreened at the airport upon landing . One passenger , whose online handle is Kejiwaijiao , said he noticed something was wrong when the flight map on board indicated the plane was headed back to Beijing . When he inquired , he said , flight attendants told him it was a map display error . `` The captain notified us ( of the reason ) after we safely landed , '' he wrote on Sina Weibo , China 's equivalent of Twitter . Another passenger , whose Weibo name is Nataliebu , said crew members only told passengers to buckle up and sit tight due to strong air turbulence . On June 29 , passengers and crew members thwarted a hijack attempt on a short-haul flight within the far western Chinese province of Xinjiang . Authorities said six ethnic Uyghur men tried to take control of the plane through violence before being subdued . The plane returned to its origin safely . Passengers and crew foil hijack attempt in China . Security is usually tight throughout Beijing Capital International Airport , the world 's second-busiest air hub after Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta . More than 78 million passengers passed through the Beijing airport 's three terminals last year .
Air China flight turns around seven hours after takeoff . Carrier cites ` ` threatening incident '' as the reason for return to Beijing . NEW : State ##ment : Initial warning of the incident came from U.S. authorities . The carrier has left again for New York , Air China 's website says .