Suspicious item causes evacuation of El Paso airport terminal

Airline Industry Information, Dec 2, 2002

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Officials evacuated a concourse at El Paso International Airport, Texas, yesterday (1 December) due to a suspicious item.

An airport security screener reportedly spotted a suspicious item - described as contraband - but then lost track of it, thus forcing officials to evacuate the airport's east concourse and rescreen thousands of passengers. The suspicious item was not found.

The incident affected flights operated by Southwest Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, America West Airlines and United Airlines, reported The Associated Press.

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