The man who slipped passed security at Newark airport on Sunday, triggering a major security alert, just wanted to kiss his girl-friend goodbye.

Local newspaper Star-Ledger reports that CCTV cameras show how his girl-friend lifted a cordon separating passengers who had been checked from ones who hadn’t to let him through.

The security breach triggered a major security alert and the departures hall was cleared. Even passengers who were already sitting in the planes had to go through the recently tightened checks again as the authorities were not taking any risks after the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Northwest plane. One of the passengers was Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin who as a result missed giving a New Year’s speech at a reception at his ministry.

The man was not found. A security officer who should have been standing next to the cordon separating the passengers has been suspended.

In recent days, airports in the state of California and Minnesota have also been cleared in security alerts.
 

 Photo: Empty departures lounge at Newark Liberty International Airport - Flickr/Willow&Monk