New York airport terminal evacuated after security breach

January 17, 2010 03:37 am | Updated November 17, 2021 07:11 am IST - NEW YORK

A terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport was evacuated on Saturday after a security breach, officials said.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Steve Coleman said travellers at Kennedy’s Terminal 8 were asked to leave so they could be re-screened. He didn’t describe the breach.

Terminal 8 handles both domestic and international flights for American Airlines.

A spokesman for the airline, Charley Wilson, said the breach happened at around 3 pm (local time). Some flights were being delayed, and two American planes that had landed were waiting on the tarmac for permission to proceed to their gates.

Mr. Wilson wasn’t sure how long it would take to fully reopen the terminal.

The incident is the third evacuation in five months at airports that serve New York City.

A man was charged last week with breaching security at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on January 3. Flights were grounded for hours and passengers were re-screened while air safety officials searched for him.

In August, a terminal at LaGuardia airport was evacuated after police tackled a disturbed man who was carrying a device that looked like a bomb but turned out to be harmless.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.