Love Field Shut Down for Two Hours Friday
A bomb threat instigated by a man who ran out of Love Field prompted officials to close the airport for at least two hours Friday and delayed an unknown number of passengers, an airport spokeswoman said.
Dallas police officers arrested the man suspected of making the bomb threat Friday night and took him to Parkland Memorial Hospital for mental evaluation. Airport officials found a suitcase that the man reportedly left in the terminal after he made a statement to a woman at the airport about 6:20 p.m., authorities said. The woman notified the airport, and officials locked it down.
The Dallas police K-9 unit found no explosives, but the bomb detection unit was called in to blow up the bag. After detonating the bag, authorities determined that it did not contain explosives, said Kimberly Tolbert, Love Field spokeswoman.
Flights and passengers were delayed more than two hours while authorities determined whether the suitcase was dangerous, Tolbert said. Passengers from arriving flights were allowed to enter the terminal, but departing passengers couldn't leave, Tolbert said. Some people may have missed connecting flights. But Love Field, which is a hub for Southwest Airlines, was slowly regaining normalcy about 9:30 p.m., Tolbert said.
Six flights were waiting to depart when the airport resumed operations, but how many flights had to be rebooked was unknown, said Beth Harbin, Southwest Airlines spokeswoman.
Passengers stuck at the airport voiced frustration.
"They're not telling us anything," Joey Logue said. "They said five minutes or five hours."
Some passengers, including Teresa Scordo, were separated from their children. Scordo was kept in one part of the airport, but her 11-year-old daughter was in the baggage claim area.
This story contains material from The Associated Press and NBC, Channel 5 News.
Staff writer David Wethe contributed to this report
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