Delays at LAX following false alarm

At least two terminals were "self-evacuated" and security personnel were checking them for anything suspicious, LAX officer Alicia Hernandez said late Sunday in Los Angeles on the west coast of the US.

The scare began when people reported gunfire in the terminal. Police later determined it was unspecified "loud noises" and was a false alarm.

Video feeds from the airport had shown dozens of people gathered on a tarmac and outside terminals at one of the busiest transit hubs in the US.

Security officials have been on heightened alert in recent months following deadly attacks at international airports in Belgium and Turkey.

The false alarm at LAX comes two months after New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport was temporarily evacuated by police while they investigated reports of gunfire in one of its terminals.

The US Federal Aviation Administration wrote on its website that air traffic to LAX was being delayed at the point of departure and suggested passengers in other cities check with their departure airports for possible delays.

jar/jm (Reuters, AFP)