Honolulu airport temporarily closed after security breach

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

A lapse in security at a Hawaiian Airlines checkpoint caused delays in interisland and overseas flights this morning at the Honolulu International Airport affecting between 3,500 and 4,000 passengers.

Millern Jarrett-Thorpe waits with his daughter Cymill and son Millern at Honolulu International Airport for a flight to Kona. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

State and federal transportation officials said a security screener reported seeing a carryon bag containing a weapon at about 9 a.m., but she did not immediately report it to her supervisor. When she did, the supervisor in turn failed to notify law enforcement authorities as required under security procedures made more stringent in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

By the time the report was made, the man who appeared to have the bag had left the checkpoint.

Officials said they believe there was in fact no weapon but that the screener saw an image in the X-ray machine that is projected periodically as a test of security. When the image is flashed, the screener must notify her supervisor and the supervisor is required to report to authorities, but that did not happen promptly, officials said.

The man, who is between 18 and 20 years old, was scheduled to take a Hawaiian Airlines charter flight to the Mainland when security officials caught up with him. He was searched and questioned, but officials believe he was carrying only a jacket and a CD player when he went through the checkpoint.

Meanwhile, both the interisland and overseas terminals were cleared of people and those aboard planes awaiting departure were told to disembark and be rescreened.

Five flights between 9:15 a.m. and 10:55 a.m. were directly affected, with 2,000 overseas passengers and between 1,500 and 2,000 interisland customers delayed.

Because of the disruption, travel in and out of the airport will be affected throughout today. Travelers are advised to call their airlines to check if their flights have been rescheduled.

The screener and her supervisor, both employees of The Wackenhut Corp. security company contracted by Hawaiian Airlines, were relieved of their airport duties by the Federal Aviation Administration. Hawaiian also faces a possible fine of up to $11,000 for the failure of its security personnel to follow proper security procedures.