Chaos at JFK after security scare
Thousands of travellers have been evacuated from New York’s JFK Airport after a security scare.
Airport police said they had received reports of gunfire at Terminal 8 near the departures area at around 9.30pm on Sunday, local time.
They then closed Terminal 1 after further reports of shots fired and the Federal Aviation Administration reported a ‘full ground stop’ on all air traffic arriving at the airport until 11.30pm.
But a later statement from Port Authority, which operates the airport, said initial investigations suggest the reports were unfounded.
"Preliminary investigation does not indicate shots were fired at JFK. There are no injuries," it said.
"At this time, no gun shells or other evidence of shots fired has been found. The terminal was evacuated out of an abundance of caution."
It advised travellers to contact their carriers as flights have been disrupted.
There is heavy police presence at the airport as the investigation continues.
The New York Police Department’s chief of special operations said on Twitter that all terminals had been searched and cleared and nothing had been found.
According to US news channel NBC, the scare could have been sparked by a passenger who heard cheering and clapping from other travellers watching the Olympics.
Flight tracker website Flightradar24.com said delays in the region were increasing.
"Delays growing as authorities resolve situation at JFK. Some inbound flights diverting," it tweeted.
Virgin Atlantic said it had suffered a few minor delays but flights were now back to normal. British Airways also said its schedules were operating as normal.
JFK has six terminals and is the busiest international air passenger gateway into the US.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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