This archive report was first published on 3 September 2019.
On Monday night, as the Labor Day weekend drew to a close, a sudden and intense evacuation took place at Newark Liberty International Airport's Terminal A. The scene was chaotic, with panicked travelers abandoning their carry-on bags and rushing for the exits.
According to Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an Alaska Airlines employee at Gate 30 grew suspicious of two male passengers as they prepared to board a flight. The employee tried to confront the men, then pulled a fire alarm, prompting the evacuation around 8:30 p.m.
Police officers with tactical rifles converged on the terminal, and some travelers took refuge on the airport tarmac. The airport returned to normal operations just before 9 p.m., with shaken airline passengers returning to their personal items scattered throughout the gate area.
David Lombardi, a sportswriter for The Athletic, was waiting for a flight to San Francisco when he heard an Alaska Airlines flight attendant yell 'evacuate.' He dove to the ground, thinking it was an active shooter, and hid under the seats. 'We live in a world where people think there's an active shooter everywhere,' he said.
The evacuation came in the wake of mass shootings in August in Odessa, Tex.; Dayton, Ohio; and El Paso, which have left the public on edge. It also occurred on the same day that the Labor Day parade in South Plainfield, N.J., was abruptly canceled after the police found explosive devices at a home near the parade route.
Alaska Airlines is currently investigating the incident, and the airline employee who prompted the evacuation is also being questioned by authorities. The airline released a statement saying, 'Alaska Airlines is aware of an incident that occurred today at EWR. We are currently investigating and will provide additional details as we find out more.'
