A suspicious package found at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington DC prompted authorities to evacuate part of the terminal on Thursday morning (March 12) before officials later declared the area safe.
Airport authorities said passengers were temporarily evicted from Concourse D in Terminal 2 after an object was found in a lounge, prompting a security response.
Suspicious package detected
According to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the package was located around 9 a.m. in a lounge at the airport.
Crystal Nosal, a spokeswoman for the authority, said police responded quickly to secure the area.
Airport officials also shared updates on the situation on social media.
“At around 9:00 a.m., a suspicious package was found in the lounge. Airports Authority police set up a security perimeter until the item could be cleared, which included moving passengers out of Concourse D,” the airport wrote in a post on X.
The authorities are giving the all clear
Paramedics later examined the subject and declared the area safe.
“The item was cleared at approximately 10:20 a.m. by the Arlington County Fire Department. Airport operations are returning to normal,” the airport said in an update.
Officials confirmed that clearance was issued around 10:30 a.m., allowing passengers to return to the concourse.
They urged passengers to check their flight details
Following the security scare, airport officials advised passengers to confirm flight information with airlines.
“Passengers are encouraged to reconfirm flight times and gate allocations with their airline,” the airport said.
Concourse D in Terminal 2 serves mainly flights operated by American Airlines.
Flight delay reported
Flight tracking data from FlightAware showed more than 100 flights arriving at or departing from the airport were delayed Thursday morning. However, it remains unclear how much of the delay was directly related to the evacuation.
Authorities have not released details about the package’s contents or what prompted the security alert.
The incident comes amid fears of a federal shutdown
The outage comes as Transportation Security Administration employees work without paychecks due to a partial government shutdown that affected the Department of Homeland Security.
