A terminal at LaGuardia Airport was briefly evacuated late Thursday night as police investigated an abandoned vehicle there, the Port Authority says.
Terminal B was evacuated around 11:30 p.m. as Port Authority police began looking into the car. It's not clear why it sparked suspicion, but it was later seen being towed away by a police tow truck, and the terminal was reopened.
A Port Authority spokeswoman said the vehicle was "cleared without incident." No further details were immediately available.
The investigation caused long delays in and around the airport in Queens. Some passengers on arriving flights reported on social media they were being held in planes on the tarmac. Outside the terminal, crowds of passengers with suitcases were lined up along the roadways, and cars were gridlocked, photos show.
One person tweeted photos of cars at a standstill outside the airport, writing, "Not sure what's happening at LaGuardia Airport but Port Authority police have stopped all traffic."
Suspicious sighting calls to 911 have surged in the New York City area since the weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey. Suspect Ahmad Rahami, who remains hospitalized after a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey, is facing federal charges in the four bombings and bombing attempts.
