An exploding camera battery

Chaos, evacuation led to long waits for security checks

caused chaos and hours of wait at Orlando International Airport security checkpoints.

Thousands of travelers faced hours of waiting at security checkpoints at Orlando International Airport on Friday night after a camera battery exploded, causing people to panic and the airport to be evacuated.

Shortly after the 5 p.m. incident, passengers were ordered to de-plane and people waiting at their gates were forced to be re-screened through TSA checkpoints. Hours later, exasperated passengers clogged the terminals, standing in slowmoving lines.

Mike Robinson said he was about to board a flight to Dallas when he heard a loud noise. “It was pandemonium,” he said. People sprinted past the security checkpoint to take cover.

“Now they’re bringing people out of their gates, off-loading them to be screened again,” Robinson said. “There’s thousands and thousands of people. … I look back and I see a sea of people.”

He said at least 10 bombsniffing dogs were brought into the terminal.

According to the Orlando Police Department, the incident that prompted the delays was a lithium camera battery that overheated and exploded in the main terminal.

Travelers quickly posted on social media that they had fled the airport and feared for their lives. While rumors circulated online, OPD posted a message on Twitter denouncing any danger. Authorities said no shots had been fired and there was “no danger to the public.” They said the camera bag was “smoldering.”

Airport spokesman Rod Johnson said the noise was reported just after 5 p.m. in front of the security checkpoint for Gates 1-59.

Phil Brown, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, said a full ground-stop was issued at 5:30 p.m. and lasted until 9 p.m.

Terminals A and B were evacuated, and trams were stopped temporarily, Johnson said. The security checkpoints remained closed while authorities investigated the incident.

By 8:45 p.m., all gates had reopened to passengers.

At a press conference Friday night, Brown said 24 flights were canceled and 27 more were diverted. He acknowledged that some passengers will have to book new flights, and others might struggle to find hotel rooms for the night; dozens were left stranded at the terminals Friday. He expected the incident would cause delays