Incidents At Area Airports Before Sept. 11 Concern Travelers
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- The anxiety level is high all across the country as we approach the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Airports are not taking any chances.
Weijia Jiang has more on the incidents that set off alarm bells early Saturday.
With not one but two investigations at airports so close to home, many passengers at BWI say they are concerned about traveling so close to Sept. 11. At Dulles International Airport, just outside the nation's capital, several gates were evacuated Saturday afternoon after a suspicious item was found.
"Being at an airport, it's kind of scary. I mean, now that I think about it, it could be a potential problem," said one traveler at Dulles.
Washington and New York are already two cities on high alert after being named as potential targets. A spokesman for the airport says a bomb squad was called to the scene to investigate the area, located around a cargo container which houses mostly international carriers. It remains closed off.
And just up the road at BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, some passengers had a scare of their own. A flight coming to Baltimore from Albuquerque, N.M. had to be diverted to Nashville around 1:15 p.m. because someone on board was acting suspiciously.
"My heart is beating now just hearing about that at this point because being at JFK Airport, you can definitely tell that everyone was concerned. All the press and the security was really amped up there," explains another traveler at BWI.
A spokesman for Southwest says the person caused concern but would not elaborate on how. He also says the passenger did not continue on the flight to Baltimore which carried 115 people. The disruption added to the anxiety many travelers were already feeling on the eve of Sept. 11.
"You just never know. America is such a wonderful place to live, but with all the different things that are taking place with 9/11, you just never know. It's better to be safe than sorry," said a traveler.
We're still waiting to learn more about that person who was on that Southwest flight from Albuquerque, but as for that situation in Washington D.C., at least two flights have been delayed as a result of that package.
