Terminal A at Logan International Airport reopened Sunday afternoon after it was evacuated when an item that appeared “potentially suspicious” was found inside a piece of luggage but was later determined to be a video game console that posed no threat, State Police said.
TSA agents were screening checked luggage at 4:05 p.m. for a Delta flight when they “observed a potentially suspicious item in a bag” and requested the State Police Bomb Squad to respond, State Police said in a statement.
“Troopers responded and, after investigation and research, determined that the item was a Play Station video game console with a degraded condition caused by age or damage,” the statement said. “The condition of the console caused abnormalities in the image produced when it was x-rayed, prompting the screeners’ concern.”
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The terminal was evacuated. Images and videos shared on social media showing masses of travelers exiting and then waiting on a curb across the road from the terminal’s entrance. State Police spokesman David Procopio said the terminal was evacuated “out of extreme precaution.”
Evacuating everyone from Terminal A @BostonLogan #loganairport pic.twitter.com/z57yIOdCJW
— Mohamed (@BattleBornLV) April 17, 2022
The terminal was reopened after 5 p.m., State Police said.
One man catching a flight to La Guardia said he was waiting in a long line at the TSA checkpoint in Terminal A when people began fleeing the area.
“I was just zoning out and had my headphones in while I was walking through. Suddenly everyone was running fast towards the exits, knocking over the stanchions, and ducking heads,” Jamey Miller wrote in a message to the Globe. “I was looking towards the area people were running from and saw no signs of violence. I even asked someone ‘what’s happening?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know just run!’ ”
Miller, 23, of Framingham, said police told the crowd to wait outside but did not instruct them to cross the street.
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“Quickly people started to assume it was some sort of scare but that nothing urgent was happening because the cops we could see inside [through] the glass didn’t look distressed,” he wrote.
Miller said the TSA line seemed to move faster once the crowd was ushered back inside. He said he got to the airport early to do work and didn’t miss his flight.
He said he didn’t know it was an old PlayStation that caused the alarm until he saw news reports on social media as he was waiting for his flight to take off.
“I’m happy that they kept us safe but also I’m a little upset that the response to a damaged game console is not controlled enough to prevent mass hysteria,” Miller wrote. “I don’t know who started running, but they must have been told to by someone. I would hope they would have more of a ‘remain calm’ attitude to get everyone out.”
A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Port Authority referred questions to State Police.
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com. Follow him @NickStoico.