DENVER
A passenger trying to check a bag containing fireworks at Denver International Airport triggered a more than two-hour evacuation at four airline ticket counters Monday afternoon, police said.
The police bomb squad was called about 3 p.m. and the incident forced the delay of a British Airways flight to London and the evacuation of passengers and airline employees in the northwest terminal area, said DIA spokeswoman Jenny Schiavone.
A male passenger was checking the fireworks-laden bag at the British Airways counter when passengers for the London flight were checking in, said Denver police spokesman Detective John White. But White said he did not know if the passenger was bound for London.
"When the bag was moved by one of the (airline) attendants, there was something suspicious about the bag. It may have made a sound," White said. This alerted airline workers and police were called.
A bomb squad member in a protective suit examined the bag and police seized the fireworks as evidence, he said. Firefighters also responded to the terminal.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration website warns: "All fireworks are explosive materials and are dangerous if brought on board an aircraft. Fireworks are not permitted in checked or carry-on baggage."
There was a potential hazard if the fireworks had been checked on the plane.
The bag contained "a commercial type of fireworks that was particularly sensitive to movement and to shock," White said.
Police ticketed the man for violating the city fireworks ordinance and he missed his flight, White said . But the man will be allowed to leave the city while his fireworks violation case is pending.
Passengers and employees were allowed to return to ticket counters for British Airways, American, Lufthansa and US Airways about 5:30 p.m., according to police and DIA officials.
Only the one British Airways flight was affected, because ticket agents for American, Lufthansa and US Airways were able to temporarily worked at other counters, Schiavone said.
All airlines have returned to their normal ticket counters, she added.
A DIA spokesman said it was unclear if all passengers were able to make the delayed British Airways flight, because a potential "crew duty-time issue" might have required the airline to stop boarding and depart the flight.
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