By Tania Fuentez
Associated Press
ATLANTA – A man ran through a security checkpoint and eluded guards at the nation’s busiest airport today, halting flights and causing a ripple effect that slowed air traffic throughout the United States.
The security breach shortly before noon all but shut down Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport for four hours, as flights into and out of Atlanta were delayed on the busy travel weekend before Thanksgiving.
Police said the suspect was not captured and may have escaped in the crowds of thousands of passengers and airport employees who were forced into parking lots outside the terminal.
The man, who was wearing jogging shorts and a T-shirt, ran past guards at a security checkpoint then fled down an up-escalator, said Benjamin DeCosta, the airport’s general manager. The man did not carry a visible weapon.
Private security workers, National Guard troops and police chased the man to no avail.
The Federal Aviation Administration halted departures at Hartsfield and planes in other cities destined for Atlanta were told to remain on the ground, FAA spokesman Christopher White said. International flights were allowed to land and passengers were held in the concourse.
DeCosta said from 5,000 to 10,000 passengers and employees were evacuated. Many were standing outside in the two twin parking lots around the terminal. Others waited inside the main baggage area.
After the entire airport was searched, all passengers had to go through even tighter security.
Lines of people in the lots began moving slowly after 3 p.m. and flights began taking off again after 4 p.m. Flight schedules were not expected to be back to normal until Saturday.
“If you want me to fly, you’ve got to stop this kind of nonsense,” said Jerry Presley of Kansas City, who had been in Atlanta on business. “They should have stopped this guy. There should have been someone to catch this guy.”
Heath Harmon, an epidemiologist from Boulder, Colo., was trying to get home after two weeks of training at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“At least I have friends in Atlanta so if I get bumped back I have a place to go,” Harmon said. “I’d rather feel safe than just get there and not feel good about it.”
Several people were detained and taken to Hartsfield to be compared to images of the man on airport surveillance cameras, said Allison Hodge, a spokeswoman for the Georgia State Patrol.
The checkpoint was staffed by police, two members of the National Guard and one security guard for International Total Services, which handles security at Hartsfield. Officials at the Cleveland-based company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
AirTran Airways canceled 22 flights and passengers had to get off 18 others that were preparing to leave Atlanta, spokesman Tad Hutcheson said. It also diverted 17 flights to airports in the region, such as Macon and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Delta Air Lines which carries more than 70 percent of passengers at Hartsfield, canceled 147 flights because of the breach and delayed hundreds of others, spokeswoman Peggy Estes said. The airline also diverted at least eight flights en route to Atlanta.
Commuter trains and buses were not allowed to enter the airport, stranding thousands more people.
“We’ll wait it out,” said Mike McDonough of Tucker, who was headed to Italy with his wife. “Hopefully, we’ll get out today.”
Georgia Sen. Max Cleland was among those stranded at the airport – he was supposed to take a flight to Savannah for a 4 p.m. news conference on aviation security.
Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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