January 7, 2010 8:42 PM
- Text
TSA: Man Left Newark Soon after Breach
Updated 4:45 p.m. EST
A man who caused a security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport, causing major delays and grounding flights for six hours, left about 20 minutes after he walked the wrong way through a security checkpoint, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.
A security officer assigned to the part of the airport where the breach occurred has been reassigned. TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said Monday evening that the unidentified officer has been reassigned to non-screening functions during the investigation.
Someone picking up a passenger told an officer guarding the exit that he thought he saw a man enter through the doors Sunday, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said. TSA reviewed surveillance video before sweeping the airport, she said.
Surveillance video confirmed the man had entered through the exit, and officials made passengers leave the terminal and be rescreened.
The video also showed the man leaving the terminal through another exit about 20 minutes later, Davis said, although it was unclear when authorities learned the man had left.
"We have to operate under the assumption that he's still in the sterile area," Davis said. "We have to ensure that he hadn't introduced anything to the sterile area."
Authorities found nothing suspicious when they searched the terminal after evacuating passengers. They are still trying to determine the man's identity.
Terminal C, where the security breach occurred, is used mostly by Continental Airlines. Airline spokesman Susannah Thurston said the airline still had delays, particularly with flights that originated at Newark and are now running behind schedule at other airports.
At Oslo's Gardermoen airport, a Continental flight to Newark that was scheduled to leave at 11 a.m. local time was delayed at least six hours. Passengers sat on suitcases and chatted among themselves as they waited in a check-in line that barely moved for one-and-a-half hours.
Ragnhild Belbo, 26, of Trondheim, Norway, was traveling to St. Paul, Minnesota, with her 82-year-old grandmother to visit her brother, a student at St. Olaf College. She was disappointed to learn they would likely have to spend the night in Newark.
"It's a bit hard to lose one day when you have one week only, and there could also be more delays," Belbo said.
Kristian Hoynes, 19, of Floro, Norway, worried about missing his second anniversary dinner with his girlfriend of two years, who was staying with her parents in Virginia.
"We'd sort of planned a dinner," said Hoynes, a student at the University of Charleston, West Virginia. Still, he said, if he gets stranded in Newark, "You know college. I have friends everywhere. I can make a few phone calls and crash somewhere."
A YouTube video posted Sunday shows some passengers making the most of the delay - joining in an impromptu sing-a-long to the Beatles' "Hey Jude."
Also Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration said passengers flying into the United States from nations regarded as state sponsors of terrorism and "countries of interest" will be subject to enhanced screening techniques, such as body scans and pat-downs.
Starting Monday, all passengers on U.S.-bound international flights will be subject to random screening.
The State Department lists Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism. The other countries whose passengers will face enhanced screening include Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A man who caused a security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport, causing major delays and grounding flights for six hours, left about 20 minutes after he walked the wrong way through a security checkpoint, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.
A security officer assigned to the part of the airport where the breach occurred has been reassigned. TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said Monday evening that the unidentified officer has been reassigned to non-screening functions during the investigation.
Someone picking up a passenger told an officer guarding the exit that he thought he saw a man enter through the doors Sunday, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said. TSA reviewed surveillance video before sweeping the airport, she said.
Surveillance video confirmed the man had entered through the exit, and officials made passengers leave the terminal and be rescreened.
The video also showed the man leaving the terminal through another exit about 20 minutes later, Davis said, although it was unclear when authorities learned the man had left.
"We have to operate under the assumption that he's still in the sterile area," Davis said. "We have to ensure that he hadn't introduced anything to the sterile area."
Authorities found nothing suspicious when they searched the terminal after evacuating passengers. They are still trying to determine the man's identity.
Terminal C, where the security breach occurred, is used mostly by Continental Airlines. Airline spokesman Susannah Thurston said the airline still had delays, particularly with flights that originated at Newark and are now running behind schedule at other airports.
At Oslo's Gardermoen airport, a Continental flight to Newark that was scheduled to leave at 11 a.m. local time was delayed at least six hours. Passengers sat on suitcases and chatted among themselves as they waited in a check-in line that barely moved for one-and-a-half hours.
Ragnhild Belbo, 26, of Trondheim, Norway, was traveling to St. Paul, Minnesota, with her 82-year-old grandmother to visit her brother, a student at St. Olaf College. She was disappointed to learn they would likely have to spend the night in Newark.
"It's a bit hard to lose one day when you have one week only, and there could also be more delays," Belbo said.
Kristian Hoynes, 19, of Floro, Norway, worried about missing his second anniversary dinner with his girlfriend of two years, who was staying with her parents in Virginia.
"We'd sort of planned a dinner," said Hoynes, a student at the University of Charleston, West Virginia. Still, he said, if he gets stranded in Newark, "You know college. I have friends everywhere. I can make a few phone calls and crash somewhere."
A YouTube video posted Sunday shows some passengers making the most of the delay - joining in an impromptu sing-a-long to the Beatles' "Hey Jude."
Also Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration said passengers flying into the United States from nations regarded as state sponsors of terrorism and "countries of interest" will be subject to enhanced screening techniques, such as body scans and pat-downs.
Starting Monday, all passengers on U.S.-bound international flights will be subject to random screening.
The State Department lists Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism. The other countries whose passengers will face enhanced screening include Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.
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