New York airport terminal evacuated after security breach

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.