March 13--6:45 p.m. update: A Transportation Security Administration spokesperson has recommended that airport travelers store their bulky South by Southwest items in their carry-on bags rather than check them, suggesting that it was the cause of security hold-ups Wednesday.
Those items should then be placed in a bin while going through security, the TSA said.
"If an item in a bag is unable to be clearly viewed as part of the screening process, or if an item alarms, additional screening may be needed before the bag is cleared," according to the agency.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport initially reported that it was stickers or magazines causing the security problems. Airport spokesman Jim Halbrook said neither is the cause.
Earlier: A piece of South by Southwest swag given to festival goers who are now departing from the Austin airport is setting off luggage security alarms and creating headaches at the airport.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokesman Jason Zielinski said the false alarms can be traced to a SXSW sticker, though many are reporting on Twitter that the false alarms actually have to do with a magazine.
"Flight is delayed because the ink on the #sxsw brochures is setting off the TSA's alarms," one person wrote on Twitter. "Any bag with a brochure needs to be hand-checked."
One caller to the American-Statesman said her husband was stuck on the tarmac while security went through bags.
"Apparently some South by Southwest sticker was handed out to attendees," Zielinski said. "They put the sticker on their luggage or inside their luggage. It is triggering the bag screening systems. It is causing a large majority of bags to trigger as suspicious."
The false alarms should cause minor delays while Transportation Security Administration officials check each bag, Zielinski said.
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