Newark Airport Terminal Evacuated Over Unchecked Baby

 

The week of little children posing a threat to the travelers of the world concludes with this story about how officials evacuated and temporarily shut down an entire terminal at Newark International Airport because a baby didn't receive a second screening.

The NY Daily News reports that mom and child had set off an alert when they passed through a metal detector at the Terminal C checkpoint together. Mom handed baby off to dad, who had already been cleared, and then went through again on her own.

It wasn't until after the family had moved on toward their gate that TSA screeners realized, oops, they had not re-checked the wee one.

"Per protocol, TSA notified Port Authority Police of the situation and pointed out that this was a low-risk situation and indicated that TSA officers were looking for the family in the terminal," the TSA said in a statement to the Daily News, which reports that it was the Port Authority's decision to close the terminal and not the TSA's.

Alas, the family was never found, and the Port Authority reopened the terminal, figuring that the flight was already up in the air.

The TSA has been feeling the heat following incidents of possibly overzealous screening involving a hug-happy 4-year-old and a 7-year-old with cerebral palsy. Not to mention those screeners at LAX who were busted on charges of taking bribes to let drug smugglers sneak their wares through security.

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