August 7, 2008

LAX Terminal Evacuated

by ssavage

By From news services

One of the busiest terminals at LAX was briefly evacuated Saturday after an X-ray machine showed one bag had a "dense mass with wires attached to it" that turned out to be a book and computer cables, a police sergeant said.

The Los Angeles Police Department Bomb's squad said the suspicious item was found by federal Transportation Safety Administration inspectors, prompting a partial evacuation at Terminal One, said Sgt. Jim Holcomb of the Los Angeles World Airport Police.

Terminal One, which serves Southwest Airlines and USAirways, was emptied of passengers and employees at about 7:40 a.m., the LAX traffic information radio service AM 530 reported.

"Airport police cleared the area around the item," he said. "The LAPD Bomb Squad responded and determined that the item was not an explosive device. The terminal was re-populated at 8:30 a.m."

Holcomb said the package probably belonged to a passenger who was running late.

"Someone couldn't find that person and just put the package onto the X- ray machine and drove off," he said.

Traffic on the upper deck of the airport's access road was severely backed-up as several lanes were closed to make way for hundreds of evacuees, delaying persons heading to the other seven LAX terminals.

The LAX snafu added to delays facing many passengers heading to the New York area, where thunderstorms were causing ground delays of about 3 hours 30 minutes for flights heading to John F. Kennedy International Airport, AM 530 reported.