"Tomato juice spill creates long lines at NY LaGuardia airport"

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Sunday, October 21, 2007

Tomato Juice Spill Causes Long Lines At LaGuardia

TSA Shrugs Off Delays, Blames Technology

Reporting Andrew Kirtzman

WCBS-TV Ch 2 (CBS), New York (NY)

Tempers grew short at LaGuardia Airport Saturday. The American Airlines terminal was brought to a near-standstill because of an equipment malfunction, but it was the reason for the malfunction that really had people fuming.

People were welcomed to Terminal D of LaGuardia Airport with a line so long, it was difficult to tell where it began, or where it ended - all because someone spilled tomato juice on an x-ray machine.

When CBS 2 HD told one woman the reason for the delays, she asked if we were "kidding," but it was no joke. The Transportation Safety Administration confirmed the spill knocked out one of the five units that screen thousands of passengers here each day.

"That's insane," said Dallas bound passenger Pat Jones. "That shouldn't be our problem, should it?"

But it was.

The delays left many passengers stressed out. "I just want to make sure I make my flight," said one traveler. "I'm not sure that's going to happen."

Few could believe that a major airline terminal could be thrown into chaos by such a simple problem. "It makes one very sad and very worried," said Bonnie Schmitta.

The line to screen passengers started stretched down the length of several city blocks, yet a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Administration shrugged off the incident, saying: "That's the risk you take when you deal with technology."

But people here didn't see it that way. "It's the biggest crock of inefficiency," said Leonard Williams. "Things should be better."

It took all morning and much of the afternoon until things finally did get better. A TSA official said a vendor working at the airport this morning was responsible for the spill.

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