Security breach shuts down IAH terminal

Terminal B at Bush Intercontinental Airport had to be shut down for an hour and a half today after a woman bypassed a security checkpoint. The woman, whose name wasn't released, went through security once and made it into the secure section of the airport reserved for passengers with tickets. She then left the secure area and returned, but didn't go through the security point again.

The terminal was evacuated and searched, and the trains connecting it with other terminals were shut down, [Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Andrea] McCauley said. She said the woman was not charged.

"We discussed it with her," McCauley said. "'We've talked to her and now we're focusing on rescreening those passengers. She will be rescreened as well."

When we first read the report, we thought the woman might somehow have accidentally walked past the security checkpoint the second time — as unlikely as that seems, what with all the signs and barricades, we figured it could have happened. But then we read that Houston Airport System Richard Fernandez said the woman "ran past the checkpoint and was 'lost in the crowd' before she could be stopped." So much for accidents.

Things are apparently back to normal at the airport, but the woman and many other passengers had to be rescreened before they were allowed to board their flights.

Update: Turns out the woman was looking for a bathroom.