“Suspicious Item” Prompts Evacuation At Major American Airport

A “suspicious item” prompted an evacuation at Miami International Airport, causing a chaotic situation for travelers amid a winter storm in parts of the country.

Authorities evacuated everyone in the immediate area as a precaution.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said its Bomb Squad was called to the scene.

Footage below:

CBS News explained further:

MIA Spokesperson Greg Chin confirmed the incident with CBS News Miami, saying that the TSA checkpoints for Concourses G, H and J, along with the curbside roadway, have been evacuated and closed off, causing traffic in the area.

Chin added that passengers driving to MIA should give themselves additional time as MDSO’s Bomb Squad was brought to the scene and is investigating the situation. MDSO said in a later update that the Bomb Squad gave the all-clear around 7:40 p.m. and that the airport has resumed normal operations.

CBS News Miami has a crew heading to the airport to gather more details as authorities continue their investigation.

Traveling across the United States this weekend has already been hectic, with thousands of flights canceled due to the winter storm.

More from the Associated Press:

Thousands of flights across the U.S. set to take off over the weekend were canceled as a monster storm started to wreak havoc Saturday across much of the country, knocking out power and snarling major roadways with dangerous ice.

Widespread heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people — more than half the U.S. population — in a path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, the National Weather Service said Saturday night. It warned people to brace for a string of frigid days.

“The snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won’t be going away anytime soon, and that’s going to hinder any recovery efforts,” said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

President Donald Trump had approved emergency declarations for at least a dozen states by Saturday, with more expected to come. The Federal Emergency Management Agency pre-positioned commodities, staff and search and rescue teams in numerous states, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.