"Security agent's mistake closes DIA's Concourse A"

Monday, October 18, 2004

Concourse evacuated at airport
Flights grounded, trains halted after safety breach involving item in
luggage
By Julie Poppen
The Denver (CO) Rocky Mountain News


Flights were grounded and trains stopped Sunday afternoon after a security
breach at Denver International Airport.

Security personnel began evacuating Concourse A shortly after 2 p.m. when
screeners saw what they thought was a prohibited item in a passenger's bag,
according to the federal Transportation Security Administration.

Screeners apparently double-checked the wrong luggage, then allowed the
passenger to enter a secure area. The passenger later was found, and
security personnel discovered the item in question wasn't a safety risk.

The breach was confined mostly to Concourse A, although trains to all
concourses were stopped for about 20 minutes.

Flights were restored, and DIA resumed business as normal by about 3 p.m.
However, at 3:15 p.m. one passenger jet was spotted descending toward the
runway and quickly taking off again.

Passenger Jim Krall read a book while the American Airlines flight he was on
sat on the tarmac for more than 30 minutes. After flying in from Australia,
the delay seemed minor.

"Everyone was pretty calm about it," said Krall, a University of Wyoming
scientist.

DIA spokesman Steve Snyder said the incident could have been worse. In
previous breaches, entire concourses had to be re-screened. That wasn't the
case Sunday.

"This is the first major one we've had in quite a while," Snyder said.

Frontier Airlines spokesman Joe Hodas said some flights were delayed but
that none was canceled.

"Some flights obviously couldn't get clearance to leave, and we had some
passengers who couldn't get to the concourse," Hodas said. "But we were able
to get the majority of our passengers to their destinations."


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