Unattended Luggage Spoils Travel Plans

I left San Antonio at 6:40 this morning. I flew on a small CanadaAir SJ jet that United Express Airlines flies that holds 70 people. It was very cozy. It was a very uneventful almost three-hour flight.

I am flying with 6 co-workers. When we arrived at the Los Angeles terminal for United Express Airlines, we had to walk a long distance to a different terminal where the Singapore Airlines ticket counter is. We arrived in Los Angeles at 7:40am local time and the Singapore Airlines ticket window did not open until 11am. Half of the group decided to take public transportation to have breakfast on the beach. The rest of us including me decided to eat in the terminal and wait for the ticket window to open.

When the ticket window finally opened, the first two of my co-workers got their boarding passes, and as I was in line, security closed the ticket counter next to ours (Cathay Pacific Airlines). Then bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs were brought in. It seems somebody found an unattended piece of luggage. After I got my boarding pass, they closed Singapore Airlines ticket counter. As the three of us made our way to security, all the rest of the ticket counters in the terminal were closed. The security checkpoint then also closed. In fact, security locked down the terminal so that nobody could enter or leave the terminal. As I was waiting in line to go through the security checkpoint, I saw a security guard and his dog weave their way through the crowd of people. Then I saw a automatic-weapon-toting security guard patrolling the scene.

Finally the security checkpoint opened again, and the three of us went through it with no problems. We then went to the Singapore Airlines VIP area to wait. While there, we received a call from the other co-workers who returned from breakfast but could not enter the terminal. Then we received word from the VIP area staff that the entire airport has been closed, and even though our flight was still two hours away, it may be delayed.

More to come later...