San Diego Airport Sees Delays, Fuel Spills, and Security Breach in One Week

A major California Airport sees back-to-back days of delays and backups after both a security breach and a fuel spill.

Security Breach at San Diego Airport

Last week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was quick to evacuate Terminal 2 at San Diego International Airport (SAN) after an individual took an unscreened bag past security. TSA was unable to locate the individual, therefore clearing out both East and West ends of the terminal. Departing flights were required to de-board, and passengers were forced to make their way out of the terminal as K9 Units conducted sweeps throughout the building. The FAA issued a full ground-stop for all departing Terminal 2 flights.

"At approximately 12:25 p.m. today… a traveler took a carry-on that had been identified for additional screening and walked into the sterile area of the airport… TSA officers began searching for the traveler and were not able to locate him." said agency spokesperson Laurie Dankers.

SAN's Terminal 2 (T2) is the larger, housing both domestic and international flights. Legacy carriers American, Delta, and United all operate here, while international carriers Air Canada, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Swoop and Westjet also call T2 home. Alaska Air, JetBlue, and Allegiant also use T2, with the latter pair temporarily operating there due to Terminal 1 construction.

Approximately 5,000 to 7,000 affected passengers were cleared to enter and re-screen at around 3 p.m. local time. Airlines were fortunately able to recover their delays throughout the day and operate towards an on-time schedule by nightfall.

Fuel Spill at San Diego Airport the Next Day

Despite the previous day's events, SAN experienced more delays following a fuel spill outside Terminal 1. 

Aviation and Fuel Services group Menzies flipped a fuel truck outside Gate 5 early in the day. Both the alley and taxiway area were closed as a result of the spill, resulting in roughly 134 delayed flights - amounting to 40% of scheduled departures for the day. Hazmat teams worked with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Coast Guard, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to successfully contain the spill, as drainage systems around the spill site lead directly into the San Diego Harbor.