A media staffer from Air China confirmed to the Global Times that transpacific fight CA981 to New York has returned to Beijing Capital International Airport after receiving a threatening message Wednesday.

"The passengers and crew members are safe now. And the police are investigating the issue," Zhu Mei, the media officer, told the Global Times, refusing to give any details.

The flight, which was scheduled to leave at 1:00 pm Wednesday for New York, landed in Beijing at 8:26 pm, an airport staff member said, adding that the flight would take off again at 11:55 pm.

"Flight CA981 returned to Beijing to ensure the safety of its passengers," Air China stated on its Sina Weibo account, without providing any more information.

Wang Qiang, an official from the Ministry of Science and Technology who was on the flight, said on his Weibo that at first no passengers noticed the return, before he found the flight route was heading toward Beijing. "I asked an attendant, who told me that the map was wrong."