A bomb scare prompted a partial evacuation at Miami International Airport (MIA) on Sunday, January 25. The incident unfolded during one of the airport’s busiest travel periods, adding strain as police carried out precautionary security checks.
TSA Checkpoints Closed Following Security Alert
An unattended bag found in the departures area prompted authorities to shut multiple security checkpoints. Passenger movement swiftly ground to a halt, followed by delays and cancellations.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from airport staff noting unattended luggage near Door 21 on the departures level of the South Terminal. Upon arrival, deputies classified the baggage as suspicious and ordered the evacuation of customers and staff in the immediate vicinity as a precaution.
TSA Checkpoints serving Concourses G, H and J were closed, along with the curbside roadway, while bomb disposal procedures were carried out. Initially, travelers were moved outside the terminal, causing traffic congestion across airport access roads. Shortly thereafter, unverified reports of a possible shooting circulated among passengers, contributing to mass panic and confusion during the evacuation.
Nevertheless, the sheriffs office confirmed there was no threat to life at around 7:40 p.m., stating the bomb squad issued an all-clear, allowing for airport operations to gradually resume.
Cancellations and Delays Ripple Through Operations
Normal flight operations took time to resume even after the concourses reopened. Firstly, TSA focused on rescreening airport employees, leaving passengers waiting and flights on hold.
Flight tracking data revealed around 148 departures from Miami were cancelled on Sunday, with roughly 185 more delayed. The disruption hit both domestic and international flights, with some delays stretching late into the night. One Zurich-bound flight left about three hours late after passengers were escorted back through security.
Officials added that weather-related disruptions elsewhere in the U.S. added to cancellations, worsening the knock-on effects of the terminal shutdown.
In spite of this, no injuries were reported. After the all-clear, flights resumed gradually as airlines worked to get aircraft and crews back in place.
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