A chaotic scene was calmed at Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey after an airline employee reportedly approached two men who then fled, before triggering an alarm and an evacuation in the facility’s Terminal A-3 satellite.
Passengers ultimately faced “no threat” after police descended on the terminal, tactical rifles at the ready, following a “false report,” the New York Times reported.
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The chaos ensued after an airline employee approached two men at a gate, and became concerned when they allegedly took off, Business Insider transport reporter David Slotnick tweeted, citing information from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Slotnick went on to say that the two men were found and questioned, but it was ultimately determined that no one at the airport faced any threat.
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A similar account was related by David Lombardi, a sports writer at The Athletic, who was present at the airport at the time.
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He described on Twitter a scene of “confusion” after people were told to “evacuate,” after which the “whole terminal scattered.”
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One person tweeting from the scene said that an attendant had yelled “evacuate” before people headed for any exit and ended up on the airport’s tarmac.
Newark Airport later tweeted that there was “no threat in the Terminal A-3 satellite,” and that all passengers and employees would have to be re-screened “as a precaution.”
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