Bomb scare causes Newark airport shutdown

A suspicious package, which was later discovered to be a harmless computer monitor, caused a bomb scare at Newark Liberty International Airport yesterday. It is reported that parts of Terminal A were immediately shut down pending a two-hour investigation into the incident.

During the pre-Christmas travel rush, security has been heightened at most of the world’s airports as experts concur that terror attacks are an increased risk. The latest scare comes almost a year after the failed attack by Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab to blow up a transatlantic aircraft, which in turn led to the rolling out of full-body scanners across America and elsewhere.

The package raised a positive alarm for explosives while being processed. The Port Authority bomb squad were subsequently called in to clear the risk. It is understood that the monitor was being sent to the same place as its owner who was in the air at the time of the incident.

FBI agent Bryan Travers believes the tiny amount of radiation emitted from the monitor is the likely cause for tripping the positive reading, adding that any substance used in explosives will lead to the same result even if they are not harmful when isolated.

Despite a widely reported negative reaction to the extreme and often invasive new security measures, the ATA (Air Transport Association) claims that the heightened volume of holiday travelers (a 3% rise on 2009 figures) suggest that confidence in airline security is improving.

The Transport Security Administration is however pushing for a more measured approach to airport security, preferring a more risk-based methodology rather than applying the increased screening to all travelers.

Reported by Claire Blackhorne.

Back to the Tripbase News Homepage