Portion of Seattle airport briefly shut down after 3 passengers slip past unstaffed checkpoint

Breach at Seattle airport causes partial shut down

SEATTLE — A Transportation Security Administration spokesman says part of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was briefly shut down because of a security breach.

Airport spokesman Perry Cooper tells KIRO-TV that three passengers slipped past an unstaffed security checkpoint Tuesday just after 6 p.m.

A TSA spokesman says planes were kept at their gates for about 20 minutes until the three could be located and screened. One was still in the security area; the other two were found in the boarding gate area. KIRO reports all three checked out OK.

The TSA spokesman says the three passengers passed through while security personnel were rotating positions.

Passengers were allowed to go through security again just after 6:30 p.m.

Information from: KIRO-TV, www.kirotv.com/index.html