SAN DIEGO — Thousands of passengers at San Diego International Airport were forced to deplane and return to security after a security breach involving an unscreened piece of luggage prompted evacuations on Thursday.
TSA said in a statement,
“At approximately 12:25 p.m. today at San Diego International Airport, a traveler took a carry-on that had been identified for additional screening and walked into the sterile area of the airport. TSA officers began searching for the traveler and were not able to locate him. As a result, TSA made the decision to clear Terminal 2 West & East.
The FAA issued a full ground-stop for departing flights at Terminal 2 while law enforcement conducted a sweep of the airport.
All passengers in post-security areas, including boarded passengers were evacuated and forced to rescreen.
Law enforcement completed the sweep and TSA began rescreening passengers at around 2:35 p.m.
The TSA said approximately 5,000-7,000 passengers will be rescreened, in addition to travelers regularly scheduled to depart SAN.
"TSA will utilize overtime to ensure that the security checkpoints are staffed to rescreen travelers," the TSA said.
WATCH: Ground stop lifted at San Diego International Airport, Terminal 2 travelers rescreened
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