Thousands of people were evacuated from a terminal at San Francisco International Airport today after suspected explosive residue was detected on a passenger's shoes, airport officials said.
The domestic terminal was reopened after a closure of around two and a half hours, as authorities searched for the man who had disappeared from a security checkpoint before he could be questioned.
Airport spokesmen said flights were held at 30 gates as authorities searched for a man whose shoes tested positive in an explosive detector called a trace wipe.
United handles almost half the flights into and out of the airport. The airline is also a major connecting line to more than 40 international carriers.
San Francisco police and Federal Aviation Administration officials were searched the terminal, while bomb squad trucks awaiting outside the building.
Security officials found the residue on the shoes about 7.15 a.m. (local time) after a random check, "but when they turned to talk to the man, he had gone into the crowd," said the spokesman.
Air passengers have had their shoes scrutinised closely since British Muslim Mr Richard Reid was arrested last month in Boston for allegedly attempting to blow up a transatlantic jetliner by detonating explosives hidden in his shoes. Mr Reid has pleaded not guilty to all nine charges filed against him.
The FBI, which was involved in the security sweep, said it was too early to determine whether the substance detected by the explosives test was linked to any terrorism attempt.
AFP