Terminal Evacuated After Lapse in Security

In one of the more curious breaches of airport security since Sept. 11, Burbank Airport officials evacuated one of two terminals for 45 minutes Tuesday night after it was discovered that passengers on an incoming flight hadn’t undergone proper security screening.

“An America West flight landed and deplaned passengers into the terminal,� said Burbank Airport spokesman Victor Gill. “The FAA determined that there may have been improper screening at the Phoenix airport, which led Burbank to evacuate the terminal and re-screen all persons back into the area.�

Apparently, a security screener using a hand wand allowed passengers to go through Phoenix Sky Harbor’s Terminal 4 although the hand wand alarm was going off, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Larri Dillard.

Todd Potter, a Sky Harbor airport operations supervisor, said officials were trying to determine whether the security employee had defective equipment or exercised poor judgment. “This was a safety precaution taken by the FAA to make sure no unauthorized people made it through the checkpoint,� Potter said.

After America West Flight 482 landed, Burbank Airport officials closed the terminal between 8:58 p.m. and 9:42 p.m., airport officials said.

According to Gill, at least one departing Southwest Airlines flight had to have all of its passengers re-screened. Three arriving Southwest Airlines flights were delayed in deplaning while the concourse was shut down.

Dillard said that as many as 16 flights that originated in Phoenix would have to have passengers re-screened at their destinations. About 1,100 America West passengers, plus 700 on Southwest Airlines flights, had to be re-screened.

“The FAA is in the process of investigating the incident,� Dillard said. “FAA field officers are examining this not only in Phoenix but wherever those flights were bound for.�