NEW YORK, Sept 9: A terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport was evacuated for two hours on Sunday night, causing flight delays after a security incident involving a passenger, police said on Monday.

They said Terminal 7, which is managed by British Airways, was evacuated and closed for about two hours after a passenger breached security.

A police spokesman said passengers were readmitted to the terminal at 12.30am (10.30am PST) and normal operations had now resumed although some departing flights were delayed.

He said the terminal was evacuated after a passenger either refused to be screened or set off the metal detector, but police were not alerted until an hour later and could not find him.

Other airlines that use the terminal for departing flights include United, Cathay Pacific, America West, Air Canada, Icelandair, Qantas and Thai Airways International.

ANNIVERSARY THREATS: The US government is alert for possible terrorism linked to the first anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks on the United States, but there are no signs of any suspicious activity, the White House said on Monday.

“Anniversaries can be occasions — not necessarily always — can be occasions of heightened terrorist activity,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters traveling with US President George W. Bush on a trip to Detroit.

He said the potential threat of attacks, “remains a concern”, but there had been no changes in the official government designation of the threat level.

The colour-coded threat level indicator remains unchanged from its original designation in March of yellow, the middle of five levels, which according to Homeland Security Office guidelines represents a “significant threat of risk of terrorist attacks”.—Reuters