The Aspen-Pitkin County Airport closed on Sunday around 11:55 a.m. after Transportation Security Administration officials identified suspicious items in a passenger's checked luggage.
Passengers in the terminal and in aircraft on the airport's tarmac were evacuated from the building and staged in the parking lots across from the terminal entrance.
The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office, among other emergency agencies, quickly arrived on scene and developed a plan to assess the supposed threat.
Parker Lathrop, chief deputy of operations for the sheriff's office, said they were able to clear the airport of any threats around 1:30 p.m. While he couldn't provide details on what TSA thought might be in the passenger's bag, Lathrop said they did not find anything suspicious, and the contents were typical "household items."
He went on to say that X-ray images can provide an inaccurate picture, and out of an abundance of caution, the airport evacuated all passengers before assessing the luggage.
As of about 2:30 p.m., passengers were being re-screened through airport security, and flights were scheduled to resume.
Lathrop could not recall a time when this type of false alarm had shut down the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and will be updated when new information becomes available.
