Suspicious Package Leads BWI to Close Gate Area

UPDATE: Investigators determined that the item was "non-hazardous" and reopened the area near the gate by 5 p.m. on Friday, according to airport spokesperson Jonathan Dean.

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Authorities at the Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport are investigating a suspicious package that showed up at approximately 3 p.m. in a non-public part of the airport, according to a spokesperson for BWI.

"The investigation is in the lower-level airline space of Concourse D, not in a public area," said Jonathan Dean, spokesperson for the airport. "However, as a precaution, travelers were cleared from the airline gate area in Concourse D, near that specific location."

Dean said he does not know whether authorities have seized the package or identified what it may be, but travelers are still being kept away from the immediate area.

"There was only a minimal effect on airline operations," Dean said.