Checkpoints briefly closed at Houston airport

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updated 4:12 p.m. ET Oct. 8, 2009

HOUSTON - Security checkpoints in three of five terminals at a Houston airport were closed for about 15 minutes after a passenger accidentally got on an escalator going down, then turned around and ran back up.

Houston Airport System spokeswoman Marlene McClinton says someone reported the incident Wednesday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as a potential security breach. The passenger had been going down the escalator out of the secured area before running back up.

Checkpoints in the three terminals were closed briefly while the person was found and the situation sorted out.

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McClinton says the passenger never actually crossed into the unsecured area. She says the closure caused "minimal disruption to operations."