/ / / / / /

This Weekend in Security Breaches: Newark Airport Evacuates Terminal

Where: Newark International Airport [map], Newark, NJ, United States
January 4, 2010 at 8:48 AM | by | Comment (1)

It's too bad that Thanksgiving was over a month ago, because we've got some things for which to declare our thanks. The biggest? Well, we are thankful that we weren't flying out of Newark International Airport last night, but that a friend was so that we could hear all about the security breach and resulting airport evacuation from the front lines.

Here's what happened: yesterday evening at approximately 5:30pm, a male passenger walked the wrong way through the security checkpoint; skipping search by heading into the terminal via the "exit" doors. It's not known who he was, if he was a threat or simply a confused traveler, but a search for the man yielded nothing and so the entirety of Terminal C, including planes at gates, was evacuated so that everyone had to go back through security. The issue delayed flights at least three hours, and our friend had her six-hour flight from Newark to San Diego delayed for 5 hours.

A new TSA slogan, after the jump...

The picture above, taken from Twitter, shows the mass of evacuated passengers heading back out to the security check. Looks like we're starting yet another week with a TSA failure, and a new suggestion for a TSA slogan: "The TSA: making six-hour flights into twelve-hour ordeals."

Related Stories:
· Security breach locks down Newark airport []
· 2009's Biggest Travel Villain Is...The TSA [Jaunted]
· Airport Hell coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: TwitPic]

Comment (1)

Post a Comment

Return to » This Weekend in Security Breaches: Newark Airport Evacuates Terminal


arrivals were messed up too

I landed at Newark at 7:30 last night, 2 hrs after the incident occurred. It was like it just occurred to them, oh yeah we have incoming flights that we should probably figure out what to do with. They held us on the tarmac for over 2 hrs, through out which they kept giving us different stories about what did and was going to happen. At one point they told us that we were going to have to go through security (which was completely absurd considering we were 35,000 feet in the air, and 1,000 miles away when the event occurred) Eventually they just let us (and our checked luggage) go. But anyone with a connecting flight had to get on the end of that 10,000 person line and be re-screened. I felt so bad for everyone sitting in the airport that we walked by. Apparently TSA was giving no information. Everyone was relying on twitter and other sites to find out what was going on.
izzy on January 4, 2010 at 4:17 PM #Permalink

Return to » This Weekend in Security Breaches: Newark Airport Evacuates Terminal

Join the conversation!

Not a member? .
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy (Revised 08/01/2011). © Condé Nast Digital. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast Digital.
Ad Choices