4th of July weekend travelers at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport (JFK) were temporarily evacuated on July 3, 2022 when an unattended bag sparked a security threat.
At 11:26 local time, JFK announced via social media platform Twitter that the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) was investigating a security incident at the airport’s Terminal 4.
PAPD is currently investigating a security incident in Terminal 4. Please expect traffic delays and allow extra time for travel. Thank you for your patience.
— Kennedy Airport. Wear a Face Covering. (@JFKairport) July 3, 2022
At 11:47 local time, the airport advised that arrivals and departures at Terminal 4 were closed to inbound traffic, adding that passengers should expect traffic delays and allow extra time for travel.
At 12:21, JFK announced that arrivals and departure level roadways at Terminal 4 had reopened. The airport also said that the security incident had been cleared.
Earlier security incident has been cleared. Arrivals and departure level roadways at Terminal 4 have reopened. Please expect residual traffic delays and allow additional travel time.
— Kennedy Airport. Wear a Face Covering. (@JFKairport) July 3, 2022
Some travelers at the airport were able to capture and upload photographs and video clips of airport evacuation scenes.
BREAKING : Evacuations at #JFKAirport due to a reported Bomb threat
♦️Passengers were evacuated at JFK airport due to a reported bomb threat. #USA pic.twitter.com/wbnFRIWlhN
— Zaid Ahmd (@realzaidzayn) July 3, 2022
The fourth of July long weekend is one of the busiest travel periods in the U.S. The Transport Security Administration (TSA) reported screening more than 2.1 million individuals in security checkpoints across all US airports on July 2, 2022.