JFK Terminal 1 Evacuated Due to Bomb Scare False Alarm

NEW YORK (July 4) -- John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City (JFK) was partially evacuated this evening due to a suspicious package that turned out to be a false alarm, according to various regional reports.

The portion evacuated was said to be Terminal 1, which services numerous international airlines including Air France, Air China, Cayman Airways, Saudi Arabian and Turkish. Nearly 300 passengers were evacuated from the terminal at around 6 p.m. after a police officer called in a bomb threat and a passenger independently reported an unattended piece of baggage, according to the Boston Herald.

WABC 7 reports that Hazmat trucks, commonly used to respond to explosives and/or biological emergencies, are on the scene. The Herald says that the package was analyzed and determined to be safe, and that passengers will be allowed back into the Terminal shortly.

AOL News Surge Desk has contacted the Port Authority of New York City and New Jersey (which runs the airport) for further explanation and is awaiting a response. UPDATE 8:20 p.m.: Port Authority spokesperson John Kelly says that JFK has been given the "all clear," and that passengers have been allowed back into the terminal.

The evacuation comes just days after 60-year-old Guyanese national Abdel Nur a.k.a Compton Eversley (who was arrested in 2007) plead guilty in federal court to a lesser charge of providing material support to terrorists aiming to blow up fuel lines at the airport, in a plot that prosecutors allege would have killed thousands.