Unattended bags trigger the evacuation of three terminals at LAX

Passengers were temporarily evacuated from three terminals at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday morning as authorities investigated reports of suspicious bags.

Officials ordered the evacuation of Terminal 6 around 9:30 a.m. after a police dog sniffed a suspicious bag in the transfer area for luggage, beneath an airline ticketing booth.

While authorities examined the bag, another report of a second unattended bag left under a pedestrian bridge prompted the evacuation of Terminal 7.

Airport operations were shut down briefly, and passengers were allowed back in about 15 minutes later, said LAX spokeswoman Mary Grady.

Then, as an LAPD bomb squad headed to Terminal 7, a third report came in of an unattended bag in the men’s bathroom in Terminal 5. Authorities cleared people from the area around the bathroom as well as away from Gate 52, toward the end of the concourse, Grady said.

“They have since cleared it,� Grady said. “The bathroom itself is the only area where there is a perimeter.�

The holiday travel season, which began last Friday, is the airport’s busiest period.

“Today is the busiest day, so we have a lot of people coming through the airport,� Grady said.

About 239,000 passengers will fly out of the airport by the end of the day, she said.

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UPDATES:

11:10 a.m.: This article was updated with information from LAX about the third terminal evacuation.

This article was originally published at 9:55 a.m.