LAX security alert causes evacuation & flight delays

For the second time in as many days, a security alert today forced the evacuation of part of a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

At 11:33 a.m., officials discovered a suspicious item in a piece of baggage and launched a search for the owner, airport spokesman Marshall Lowe said in a telephone interview.

The upper portion of Terminal 1, the lobby with the ticket counters, was evacuated and traffic was halted outside. Traffic on the lower level was not affected, Lowe said. Southwest, America West and US Airways use that terminal.

Wednesday night, part of Terminal 2 was briefly evacuated after equipment in the baggage screening area detected what was thought to be ammunition. The items turned out to be replicas of mortar shells.

michael.muskal@latimes.com