Newark airport terminal evacuated, flights delayed by unscreened baby

The Transportation Security Administration and the Port Authority are blaming each other after part of a terminal at Newark Liberty International Airport was evacuated Friday due to an unscreened baby.

TSA officials told TV station WCBS in New York that the Port Authority overreacted to the incident at about 1:15 p.m. at a security checkpoint in Terminal C, delaying numerous flights and invconviencing passengers.

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The Port Authority said no security breach is a minor issue and that there was no case-by-case basis for adjusting protocol, adding the TSA was behind the security brech in the first place, for not properly screening all passengers.

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein told the Associated Press that a mother and baby went through a metal detector Friday afternoon when the machine sounded an alarm. The mother handed the child to the father, who had already been screened.

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The mother was cleared, but the baby hadn't been properly screened. The parents and baby left the checkpoint and headed to their gate, Farbstein told the AP.

A short time later, TSA personnel realized the baby had not been checked and began searching for the family, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.

TSA officials notified the Port Authority, which decided to evacuated part of the terminal, search it for explosives and then re-screen all passengers.

The terminal and checkpoint were closed from 1:30 p.m. to 2:50 p.m.