JFK terminal evacuated after security breach

NEW YORK (AP) — A terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport was evacuated Saturday after someone opened a door to a secure area and set off an alarm, officials said.

The security breach apparently involved someone who left a first-class American Airlines lounge at Kennedy’s Terminal 8, opened a door that was supposed to be used only by airport workers and walked through.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Steve Coleman said it was unclear whether the person was a passenger. The breach, which happened before 3:30 p.m., was recorded by security cameras, he said.

The Transportation Security Administration said its agents and Port Authority police were searching for the person who opened the door.

All travelers at Kennedy’s Terminal 8 had to leave the terminal so they could be re-screened. Terminal 8 handles both domestic and international flights for American Airlines.

A spokesman for the airline, Charley Wilson, said some flights were being delayed, and some planes were waiting on the tarmac for permission to proceed to their gates.

Wilson wasn’t sure how long it would take to fully reopen the terminal.

The incident is the third evacuation in five months at airports that serve New York City.