CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Travelers waited in line to enter Honolulu Airport's Interisland Terminal this morning after an evacuation. A security guard stood watch.
At about the same time that the federal government raised the terrorism alert this morning, a security breach at the Honolulu Airport forced the evacuation of the airport and delayed flights through the morning. Isle airport security breach
forces evacuation of travelersBy Richard Borreca and Pat Omandam
rborreca@starbulletin.com, pomandam@starbulletin.comAlso this morning, Gov. Linda Lingle said that despite the increased terror alert nationally, the state will not raise its security alert system because there is no credible terrorist threat to the islands at this time.
Sidney Hayakawa, the federal security director for the Honolulu Airport, said the incident started at the Aloha Airlines security check-in when someone's hand-carried luggage triggered an alarm, but before the person could be stopped, he or she took the luggage and left the counter.
He said the airport was closed at 6:30 a.m. and re-opened at 9:30 a.m.
Because the person could not be located and because the neighbor island and International terminals are connected, officials decided to move all passengers out of the terminal and re-screen everyone.
Persons already aboard planes were also asked to leave and be re-screened.
No one was found to be carrying a dangerous weapon or explosives, Hayakawa said.
He said it is suspected that the first alarm was a "false positive" and that there was no threat. Officials now are reviewing videotape of the incident, Hayakawa said.
Passengers who arrived from Honolulu to Maui after the wait said the incident pushed back their flights about an hour but they weren't angry about the delay.
"It's a good thing," said Suzanne McNulty, a Kaneohe resident who was on a business trip to the Valley Isle.
"If there's a security breach, they have to do it to make sure everybody's safe."
James Chun, arriving in Hilo on a flight from Honolulu, had just one word for Honolulu airport security, "Hectic," he said.
But despite the terminal building being cleared and "thousands" of people being lined up in the streets facing the buildings, there was little delay in their flight, said Maxwell Kopper. When people were allowed back in terminal buildings, "I think they were kind of rushing us through," he said.
Security at the Lihue airport hadn't been noticeably different, said passenger Mik Furukawa. He joked about the likelihood of terrorism on sleepy Kauai. "They'd better turn on the light switch first to wake us up," he said.
Hilo airport security manager Leroy Victorine from the state contracted Wackenhut agency said his employees had gone from doing random checks of parking cars to doing a visual search of every one.
They also increased roving patrols around the grounds. No incidents occurred, he said.
Lingle said the state will remain at "guarded-plus blue" which is two levels below orange and it is the level the state has been at since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The threat level advisory system uses color codes to indicate the likelihood of terrorist attack: green for low risk; blue if there is a general risk; yellow if the risk is significant; orange for high risk; and red if the risk of a terrorist attack on the state is severe. The Hawaii system has an additional level, black, in case the state has already come under terrorist attack.
"We will increase our diligence as related to the blue guarded guidelines, and feel that our civil defense team and adjacent organizations are prepared," Lingle said.
Lingle said officials here remain in touch with both national and local homeland security teams.
Recommended actions for individuals, families, neighborhoods, schools and businesses under threat level blue include reporting suspicious activities to proper authorities and developing emergency communication plans.
State Adjutant General Robert Lee said after conference calls with the national homeland security team, the military, FBI and the counties, he feels comfortable Hawaii should remain at its current level.
"We see no credible threat to the state of Hawaii," Lee said.
Lee said the system is designed to allow each state to decide what level of security it should be at, and states do not have to follow the level of the national security alert.
Barbara Hendrie, state civil defense spokeswoman, said raising the threat level to orange would have meant a higher level of security for state facilities, including places like the Aloha Stadium. This would mean delays getting into state facilities and parking lots because of more identification checks and restricted parking areas.
Access to military bases is still restricted with all of them requiring identification checks at the gates and random car searches.
The Coast Guard said it will be increasing its maritime patrols of island harbors and waterways as well as its aerial surveillance flights.
The governor said if and when she raises the state's warning status, it will be because there is a real threat to the islands.
Star-Bulletin reporters Gregg Kakesako, Nelson Daranciang, Gary Kubota and Rod Thompson contributed to this story.
