Missed baby search leads to chaos, delays at Newark airport

A checkpoint at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport reopened after a security breach at 1:15 p.m. local time involving a baby who wasn't properly screened.


The incident occurred in Terminal C, where United Continental Holdings Inc. operates flights, and passengers were routed to other checkpoints for screening, said Sara Beth Joren, a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The checkpoint reopened about 90 minutes later, she said.

After a mother and baby triggered an alarm when passing through a metal detector, the woman handed the child to the father, who had already been screened, before she was checked, Lisa Farbstein, a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.


"Since the baby was not properly screened, TSA officers began to look for the family in the secure area of the terminal," Farbstein wrote.


Newark is a gateway for United's international flights, and together with its regional partners the company controls about two-thirds of passenger traffic there.


"We're holding about a dozen planes so we can accommodate customers" who need extra time to get through security, said Michael Trevino, a spokesman for United.


The Chicago-based carrier was formed through the 2010 merger of United's parent UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines Inc.


A short time later, TSA personnel realized the baby had not been checked and began searching for the family.
"Port Authority police unilaterally made the decision to evacuate the terminal, sweep the terminal for explosives and re-screen all of the passengers, inconveniencing hundreds of passengers and delaying numerous flights," said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the issue by name because of its delicacy.
The official said police have made similar decisions — against the recommendations of the TSA — on low-risk breaches in the past.
"This has happened several times," the official said, expressing frustration with the moves.
Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said it took the TSA more than 30 minutes to notify police of the lapse and that officers "took immediate action to make sure the breach did not endanger passengers or our facility."
"We’re not going to second-guess a real-time decision made by our police department to err on the side of caution and protect passenger safety," Coleman said.
The breach occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at one of three security checkpoints in the busy terminal. Because each checkpoint leads to specific gates, the remainder of the terminal was not affected.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the child’s mother, carrying the baby in her arms, went through a metal detector, which sounded an alarm. The mother handed the baby to the father, who had already been screened, then walked through again. Once the woman was cleared, Farbstein said, the family headed to their gate.
The search for the group was called off when Port Authority police ordered the evacuation of that section of the terminal and the re-screening of all passengers. The area was reopened at 2:50 p.m.
While some passengers complained about the delays, traveler Dennis Healy, 47, of Marlboro, said he had no problem with the precautions.
"As bad guys get smarter, they’re going to try everything," said Healy, a food scientist headed to San Diego for a trade conference. "I was in Manhattan on 9/11. I’d rather wait than not wait.