"Portions of Austin airport evacuated after package found"

Friday, July 1, 2005

Suspicious package investigated at Austin airport
The Associated Press


AUSTIN (AP) - Four airline ticket counters and other parts of
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport were temporarily shut down and
evacuated Friday morning as police investigated a suspicious package, a
spokeswoman said. 

Ticket counters and curbside check-ins for American Airlines, America West,
Continental and United were closed, as was an upper-level road next to the
airport terminal. 

Police later determined the package, which was found abandoned by a security
employee about 8:15 a.m. at a United curbside check-in, contained a homemade
model airplane refueler, said airport spokeswoman Leslie Schneiweiss. 

The package included a battery, battery pack, pump and a container to hold
fuel, she said. 

"So, obviously, that caused reason for suspicion," she said. "They don't
know who left it or why it was left." 

Once the contents of the package were identified, operations at the airport
began returning to normal about noon, Schneiweiss said. 

Throughout the investigation some planes continued to take off on schedule,
although some flights were delayed. A lower-level road next to the terminal
remained open. Passengers who had boarding passes were allowed to continue
entering security checkpoints. 

"The airport never did shut down. It was normal operations as best as
possible," Schneiweiss said.


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************