LaGuardia Airport partially evacuated after bag being loaded onto plane appeared to be smoking

  • Richmond, Virginia-bound Delta Flight 5208 was called briefly back to its gate after the suspicious package was spotted by baggage loaders
  • Authorities say the package never made it onto the plane
  • Port Authority authorities did not immediately reveal what made the package smoke but at least one traveler was questioned during the investigation
  • The precautionary evacuation ended around 12:30pm and the flight was cleared to take off

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 13:05 EST, 4 February 2014 | Updated: 18:22 EST, 4 February 2014

LaGuardia Airport Terminal C was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after officials noticed a package being loaded onto a Richmond, Virginia-bound plane was spewing smoke.

Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo said some ramp workers reported the issue shortly before noon.

Boarding of Delta Flight 5208 was suspended and the terminal partially emptied as authorities investigated the matter.

Evacuation: Hundreds of travelers can be seen being forced out of LaGuardia airport's Terminal C after 11am Tuesday when employees spotted a package that appeared to be smoking

Evacuation: Hundreds of travelers can be seen being forced out of LaGuardia airport's Terminal C after 11am Tuesday when employees spotted a package that appeared to be smoking

Cold: 'Airport officials are making us walk farther and farther from terminal C at Laguardia airport. #freezing' wrote Twitter user and evacuee Dionna Widder

Cold: 'Airport officials are making us walk farther and farther from terminal C at Laguardia airport. #freezing' wrote Twitter user and evacuee Dionna Widder

Authorities have called the evacuation a precautionary measure.

Pentangelo said a passenger was being interviewed, though it remained unclear at the time of the evacuation whether the package was a parcel that was simply being shipped or if it belonged to a passenger.

Also unclear was what exactly caused the bag to smoke, though the New York Post reports that the Port Authority’s Police Crash Fire Rescue Unit was on hand during the evacuation and investigation.

The package never made it onto the Virginia-bound fight.

Hundreds of passengers were forced out into the cold, snowy thoroughfares outside the terminal and the plane was briefly called back to the gate.

The day resumes: An all clear was given after 1pm and tweeted out by the New York FBI

The day resumes: An all clear was given after 1pm and tweeted out by the New York FBI

 

'Airport officials are making us walk farther and farther from terminal C at LaGuardia airport. #freezing,' wrote Twitter user Dionna Widder.

By 12:30, employees were allowed back into the evacuated area.

Passengers soon followed and the ExpressJet has since been cleared for takeoff.

'All clear at LaGuardia Airport following earlier reports of a suspicious package,' tweeted the New York FBI.

It was expected to be a little over an hour and a half late into Richmond.

Pentangelo said the bag was moved to a remote location, X-rayed and declared harmless.

Precautionary: The Delta terminal was partially cleared as a precaution before noon and a passenger was questioned by authorities but authorities said nothing nefarious was suspected

Precautionary: The Delta terminal was partially cleared as a precaution before noon and a passenger was questioned by authorities but authorities said nothing nefarious was suspected