Asia-Pacific

Newark airport terminal locked down over security

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-04 09:29

* Security forces scouring terminal

* Man on wrong side of checkpoint without being screened

* Terminal packed with passengers two hours after incident

WASHINGTON: Terminal C at Newark International Airport near New York City was locked down on Sunday because of a security breach, CNN reported, citing the US Transportation Security Administration.

Newark airport terminal locked down over security

Passengers wait to be rescreened at Terminal C at Newark International Airport in New Jersey January 3, 2010. The terminal was being cleared after a man walked through the wrong side of a checkpoint without being screened, CNN said. [Agencies]?

The terminal was being cleared and passengers were being rescreened after a man walked through the wrong side of a checkpoint without being screened, CNN said.

Joshua Brown of Toronto, who was waiting in the terminal to board a flight for Lisbon, said the terminal lobby was packed with perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 people, waiting for a large number of security forces to complete their checks.

About two hours after the incident, he said, "The security checkpoints are still empty and nobody is queuing up."

No flights were leaving from the terminal, CNN said. Continental Airlines operates from Terminal C at Newark airport.

Major US airports have been at a heightened level of security since a botched attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day by a Nigerian man who had explosives in his underwear when boarding at Amsterdam.

US officials announced earlier on Sunday that citizens of 14 nations who are flying to the United States will be subject to intensified screening at airports worldwide.

Passengers and crew wait to be rescreened in front of the security checkpoint at Terminal C in Newark International Airport in New Jersey January 3, 2010. [Agencies]?