‘Heightened Anxiety’ Led To JFK Airport Panic

A report into the evacuation of three terminals at New York’s JFK airport in August has said that a heightened state of anxiety caused an overreaction which led to mass panic.

The report by security and law enforcement officials was prepared for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

The review of events of August 14 said mistaken reports of a shooter in one of the terminals caused panic and lead to people evacuating Terminals 1, 2 and 8. Existing security protocols and systems failed to reflect the “changing reality at airports,” the report said.

There is now a range of federal, state, local and private security personnel at Kennedy airport, but that coordination and protocols have not adjusted to the increased presence. There is also a wide range of training and sophistication of the deployed security personnel, the report states.

A heightened state of anxiety at US airports caused overreaction after people at a cafe in JFK Terminal 8 cheered Usain Bolt’s Olympic victory. Passengers panicked immediately after the celebration and a 911 police call was made. Reports then started circulating on social media that shots had been fired in a terminal.

Port Authority police in the terminal were alerted and drew weapons. Transportation Security Administration agents saw the drawn weapons and started fleeing the area alongside passengers. Fear and panic escalated quickly and passengers left the terminals by a number of routes including onto the tarmac.

The report makes several recommendations including forming a single operations centre to coordinate security operations; coordinate security personnel training; coordinate security and emergency preparedness for all airport employees; and develop a mass evacuation plan for Kennedy airport.