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Travelers in New Jersey's Newark Airport poured out liquids, opened their bags for inspection and endured long waits Thursday as airports heightened security and some flights were canceled or delayed after the discovery of a terror plot aimed at airlines traveling from Britain to the United States.
New Jersey's homeland security chief, Richard Canas, said there were no specific threats for Newark Liberty International Airport or anything else in the state, as far as authorities know.
But travelers at Newark's Terminal B, which handles many international flights, were caught Thursday morning in one of the worst airport screening lines in recent memory.
The line stretched the entire length of the terminal, roughly six football fields, and was barely moving. A woman said the line is at least four hours long. As a frequent flyer, she has never seen anything like this, even immediately after Sept. 11.
The government said it was banning liquids including beverages, hair gels and lotions from flights, explaining only that liquids emerged as a risk from the investigation in Britain.
At Newark, screeners and Transportation Security Administration agents walked up and down the line urging passengers to discard anything liquid in their carry-on baggage. Garbage cans rapidly filled with hair gel, shampoo and cologne.
The U.S. government raised its threat warning to the highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States and raised slightly the alert for all flights coming or going from the United States.
It is the first time the red alert level in the Homeland Security warning system has been invoked, although there have been brief periods in the past when the orange level was applied. Homeland Security defines the red alert as designating a "severe risk of terrorist attacks."
(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2006)
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