SAN JOSE — Frustrated passengers found their flights delayed Friday night after a false fire alarm led officials to evacuate a San Jose Mineta International Airport terminal.
At about 8:20 p.m. airport authorities evacuated Terminal B due to a report of a tripped fire alarm that turned out to be unfounded, airport Communications Manager Ana State told this news organization Saturday morning. Airport officials evacuated the terminal until about 9:30 p.m.
Passengers were rescreened through TSA before boarding their flights. The evacuation caused 15 delays and one canceled flight to San Diego, State said.
State said flights by Saturday morning were not affected by the evacuation. She added that the reopening of the federal government continued to cause minor delays at the airport, though not more than about two to four flights per day have been affected.
“Operations continued without disruption throughout the entire shutdown,” State said. “Even if the shutdown is over, we still advise our passengers to check with their airline before coming to the airport.”
Travelers at other airports through the shutdown were not so lucky, with air traffic controller fatigue causing widespread delays and cancellations earlier this week. San Francisco International Airport and Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport were two of the 40 major airports throughout the country affected by workforce callouts throughout the Federal Aviation Administration.
By Friday, San Francisco International Airport reported a 2% cancellation of all flights, or about 24 flights, alongside a 2% delay, or about 21 flights.