Newark airport terminal locked down following security alert

Terminal C, which was used by Continental Airlines, of the Newark airport in New Jersey was closed on Sunday.

It was cleared of passengers after a man walked to a secure area without being screened. This also led to a second round of screening for all the passengers who were already in the secure area.

"A man was observed entering the sterile area of the airport from the exit lane, and we immediately froze operations," said Sari Koshetz, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesperson.

"To be cautious, we wanted to make sure that everybody who gets on a plane tonight has been screened," she said.

No flights were leaving from the terminal, according to the TSA.
Authorities are still trying to identify the passenger who passed unchecked by going through security video-tapes, but the US media cited TSA as saying that this type of situation has occurred previously also.

Newark is one the three airports along with LaGuardia and John F Kennedy that serves New York City.

Authorities have also announced that from Monday, travellers from 14 nations flying into the US, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, will face additional screening such as full-body pat downs before boarding.