Bomb threat at Springs airport yields nothing but a long wait

The Colorado Springs Airport was evacuated, and flights were delayed for about two hours Monday after a telephoned bomb threat.

Police K-9 teams, explosives experts and emergency crews swept the terminal after a caller said a bomb was set to go off, airport spokesman Mark Earle said.

No bomb or anything suspicious was found at the airport terminal, which reopened shortly before 4 p.m.

Earle would not say whether the caller was a man or woman or what the caller said.

“It was an imminent threat,” he said. “Given the information we had, it was possible that it could go off. We didn’t take a chance.”

No arrests had been made by Monday night, airport officials said.

During the two-hour shutdown, hundreds of people were taken from the terminal by shuttle to wait in parking lots and outbuildings.

Cars and taxis came to a standstill on the road leading to the airport entrance, which was closed during the sweep.

All commercial flights were halted after the threatening call was received about 1:40 p.m., Earle said.

Five aircraft were diverted to Denver, and four or five other planes were held on the tarmac at a safe distance from the terminal.

Colorado Springs resident Bob Weeks was minutes away from boarding a 2:27 p.m. United plane to Boston when loudspeakers announced the evacuation.

“We all walked out on the tarmac and stayed there for about a half-hour,” he said. “Then they picked us up in buses and brought us all the way back around to a part of the airport that’s not used anymore. Then we just waited, and the weird thing is I went and called United, and they said all flights were on schedule.”

He got a later flight to Boston set to depart about 5 p.m.

“You hear people complaining, but what the heck can you do? It happens,” he said.

Lisa Uhlack and her family of five arrived at the airport during the start of the evacuation and waited in the parking lot with others.

“They said it was a security breach,” she said. “They were really hospitable. They brought us water bottles.”

“I thought that was nice,” said her daughter Haley, 8.

After the airport reopened, lines backed up from ticket counters to the door.

The line to the checkpoint security entrance snaked to the front waiting area, but moved at a steady pace.

A Transportation Security Administration agent walked along the line, handing out carry-on plastic bags and advice.

“OK, folks. Liquids. Gels. Creams. Lotions. Juice. Water. Anything like that. If they’re over 3.4 ounces, they can’t go through,” he called out to passengers.

Many took him up on his offer for plastic bags or asked about items.

Others heeded his warning and tossed their water bottles in the trash.

Sabryna Garcia at first worried she might miss her flight back to Los Angeles when she got stuck in traffic outside the airport.

“It was kind of crazy,” she said. “We were at the end of the line, but I kind of talked to the cop and he took us up to the front. It must have been the L.A. charm.”

Texan Gerry Carron and three friends spent half an hour in traffic leading to the entrance, unaware of what was going on.

They made their flight in time.

“You Colorado people know how to take care of things,” she said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0253 or andrea.brown@gazette.com