MilesBuzz! - Security Breach Evacuates CLT

from http://www.nbc6.com

11:39 AM 12/18/01
Security Breach Evacuates Charlotte-Douglas Airport

Charlotte, N.C. -- A security breach at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Tuesday afternoon caused an evacuation.

A transportation official tells 6NEWS one of the screening devices at a security checkpoint went down, allowing some passengers to enter the concourse unscreened.

Once airport officials learned of the problem, they cleared the entire airport.

Thousands of passengers are now crowded into the check-in area at the front of the airport.

At this point, security check-in points “A” and "D" are open. It is not clear if more than one screening device is down.

It is a very slow process. Those whose flight leaves first, are being asked to go to the front of the line.

At this point, officials say no flights are delayed.

when they clear out an airport or terminal, do they CLEAR out everyone, including all employees? if so, how can no flights be delayed?

That was my thought - they showed planes stacked two deep waiting to depart - nothing could land- planes were diverted - they emptied the terminal. But at that moment in time I guess, no delays were reported.. hah!

NBC6.com (WCNC Charlotte) is reporting that all outbound planes were brought back to their gates, emptied, and all passengers were re-screened. Needless to say, there are delays all over the USAirways system, no matter what Jerry Orr (airport manager) says.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by svpii:
- nothing could land- planes were diverted -...</font>I am hoping this is due to lack of space on the taxiways and runways and not due to the security breach.

If what the first reports say is true, and the screening device was faulty, and therefore people THOUGHT they were being screened, then a shutdown was uncalled for.

We all know that the screening process is a deterrent, not a foolproof stop system. After all, the random screenings and full bag searches are not 100%, since it only gets some of the people. So, why assume because the system was not fully operational that the bad guys all of a sudden knew this and went through, therefore causing the place to be emptied?

How dumb can we get?

Good point, NoStressHere. Do the feds truly believe that airport security can be 100% effective? Or are they ordering shutdowns so the public won't scream "Why aren't you shutting down the airport! We're exposed and unsafe!"