Security Scare Causes Panic in Honolulu Airport

Two laptops overheated while being screened Tuesday at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. The overheating caused popping sounds and smoke, bringing about false reports of an active shooter.

• By Kaitlyn DeHaven
• Jun 21, 2019

After false reports of an active shooter Tuesday caused the main terminal of the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport to shut down, many flights were delayed and hundreds of passengers waited for hours to go through security.

Around 2 p.m., two laptops overheated while being screened. The overheating caused a popping sounds and some puffs of smoke, and both TSOs and passengers going through security were alarmed. The incident caused some chaos, and TSA said some travelers “breached the security checkpoint by running into the sterile area of the airport without being screened.”

Witness Rob Giunta told local news station Hawaii News Now that the laptops were smoking in the luggage.

“There was some smoke coming out of one of the scanners, and the TSA agent started yelling ‘fire’ and telling people to run and get out,” Giunta said. “Six more came from the other side, and said, ‘Run, get out, there’s a fire.’ And everyone started stampeding each other, women being knocked down, kids.”

Other travelers reported that panic spread through the terminal quickly, and some people suffered minor injuries because of the chaos. The terminal was cleared completely, including passengers who had already passed through screening and were boarding flights. In addition, a traveler told the Associated Press that airport vendors and shops had to shut down and send their employees to be re-screened alongside the passengers.

United Airlines said it delayed four flights to provide passengers with enough time to go through security screening and board their planes.