bomb alert
Zocker packs wrecked Playstation in his luggage – and thus triggers the evacuation of the entire airport
A baggage check at Logan International Airport in Boston
© Michael Dwyer/ / Picture Alliance
Air traffic control is used to a lot of mischief in passengers’ luggage. However, a gamer in Boston now cleared the entire airport. His Playstation was in such a state of disrepair that security thought it was a bomb.
Whether it’s toy guns, sex toys or forbidden liquids: the security checks at the airport are confronted with bizarre objects in passengers’ luggage every day. But it is rarely as momentous as at Logan Airport in the US metropolis of Boston. Because the employees of the US air traffic control TSA could not identify an object in a passenger’s suitcase, the entire terminal was cleared – including machines that had already been boarded.
An object in a passenger’s suitcase was to blame, reports the Massachusetts State Police, according to the local broadcaster “WCVB”. According to this, the TSA employees sounded the alarm when scanning a suitcase on Sunday at 4 p.m. It was therefore not possible to identify what it was on the X-ray image, and the bomb disposal team that was summoned was also initially unable to identify the object. Only after an hour-long investigation did it turn out to be harmless: it was a Sony Playstation.
chaos at the airport
However, the console was so battered that it was no longer recognizable as such, according to the police. “It caused abnormalities on X-rays,” a spokesman told The Hill. The officials did not reveal which Playstation it was and whether the console was damaged or simply extremely worn. To be on the safe side, the suitcase, the console and the surroundings were checked for explosives, but ultimately none were found, according to the authorities.
The misunderstanding had far-reaching consequences for the other passengers. To minimize the risk, the security forces decided to evacuate the terminal completely. And locked out all employees and passengers on the forecourt. Many of them documented their waiting on social media and expressed their astonishment. Some of those affected were even on board their plane. “They are evacuating Terminal A at Boston’s Logan International Airport,” Scott Tolar wrote on Twitter. “We were already on board the plane and had to get off again. Anyone know what’s going on?”
Passengers report panicked scenes
Many of the passengers found the situation threatening. “I was walking to check-in with headphones on when everyone started running,” Miller told The Globe. “I asked what was going on and all I got was, ‘I don’t know, just run’.” Other passengers spoke to “NBC” of “panic” moments.
Only when it was clear an hour later that there was no danger were the employees and then slowly the passengers allowed to return to the terminal. However, it was not certain that they would get their flights: Because of the crew working hours, not all flights could simply be postponed, explained Delta Airlines, for example. But all those affected were rebooked.
Sources:NBC Boston, WCVB, Boston Globe, The Hill