San Jose flights delayed after "prohibited items" allowed into terminal

SAN JOSE -- A failure to secure some checked baggage after it was screened at Mineta San Jose International Airport caused a terminal to be evacuated today, according to preliminary information from the Transportation Security Administration.

Travelers numbering about 200 were asked to leave Terminal A at about 4:15 p.m. so it could be checked to be sure it was safe, airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said.

TSA officials said as of 5:30 p.m. operations were back to normal after nothing dangerous was found.

TSA officials blamed "airline personnel" for the failure.

"As a result and out of an abundance of caution, TSA cleared and swept Terminal A with negative findings," the TSA's Carrie Harmon said.

Airport officials expected outbound traffic to be delayed up to two hours because of the situation. Inbound traffic was probably going to be delayed too, Barnes said.

Airport officials said passengers should check with their airline to see whether there are any delays.

In Terminal A are gates one to 16.

Passengers traveling on a number of airlines including Aeromexico,

Air Canada, Air China, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, Jet Blue, United Airlines and Volaris could be affected.

Security personnel re-screened all passengers and their bags before letting them back into the terminal.

The breach of security is under investigation by the TSA.