Security breach at US airport delays flights to India

New York, Jan 4: A security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport forced the closure of a terminal delaying several flights including those to India for hours while authorities rescreened thousands of passengers.

The incident happened at about 5.20 p.m. Sunday at Terminal C, when a man walked through an exit on the public side to the secure "sterile" side for passengers who had cleared screening, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The incident caused arrival delays and mainly affected Continental Airlines, which is the airport's largest tenant. Among the flights affected were flights to New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

After the incident Continental offered passengers the option to re-schedule or re-route their travel once, without penalty. It also offered a refund in cases of cancellations.

"Rescreening began after the Port Authority Police and TSA swept each of the concourses in the terminal with negative findings," said Ann Davis, a TSA spokesperson.

"The man in question was never located; however, TSA's rescreening effort will ensure that every passenger boarding an aircraft tonight out of Newark's Terminal C has been fully screened."

All passengers had been rescreened by early Monday, according to the TSA.

Flights from Terminal C were grounded until the process was completed.

Authorities reviewed video from airport cameras but were not sure whether the man was once on the sterile side and went back or if he never went through screening, Davis said.

Newark Liberty International Airport, which is about 24 km from downtown Manhattan, is the second-largest hub for Continental. The airport handles about 35 million passengers a year.