Newark airport locked down after security breach, frustrating passengers

NEWARK, New Jersey, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A security breach at Newark airport in New Jersey has forced a lockdown Sunday night atone of its terminals, frustrating many passengers flying out of one of the three major airports at the New York metropolitan area.

Flights out of Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport were temporarily halted after a man walked through the wrong side of a checkpoint exit at around 5:20 p.m. local time (2220 GMT).

Anne Davis, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), told CNN that authorities are reviewing video from the monitoring system and searching for the man who walked from the public side to the sterile side.

She added that all the passengers who had reached the sterile area have been asked to be re-screened and no flights are allowed to leave from Terminal C, where Continental Airlines, America West Airlines and Flybe British European Airlines operate their flights.

Frustrated passengers throng the terminal as TV monitors show "no baggage checking" for many of Continental's flights.

Some passengers already aboard planes were asked to get off and go through security check a second time.

Continental Airlines is offering passengers to re-schedule or re-route their travel without extra charge.

"Continental is providing the option to re-schedule or re-route your travel once without penalty," the airlines said on its website.

Newark Liberty International Airport, 24 km southwest of New York City, is the fifth busiest international airport in the United States, able to accommodate over 35 million passengers annually.

Earlier on Sunday, TSA released new security procedures for travelers of U.S.-bound flights from foreign countries, especially seven countries that are deemed as "terrorism sponsors."

The new measure was mandated after a Nigerian man attempted to blow up a U.S. international flight from the Netherlands to the United States with an explosive device attached to his body on Christmas. An al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group based in Yemen claimed responsibility for the bombing plot.

TSA also said that all international passengers will be screened and the majority of passengers will be screened using threat-based or random measures.