Suspicious Rental Car Causes Flight Delays, Cancellations at Phoenix Airport

© Southwest Airlines PHOTO: Southwest Boeing 737 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines) By Do...

© Southwest Airlines PHOTO: Southwest Boeing 737 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines)

By Donald Wood, TravelPulse

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was thrown into chaos after a man left his unattended rental car near a terminal Sunday morning.

According to AZCentral.com, the Arizona airport’s Terminal 4 was temporarily closed and all passengers waiting inside were evacuated after police were notified of a suspicious rental car left in a curb lane.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson revealed that authorities were forced to bring in the bomb squad in order to confirm there was no threat inside the car. After a thorough search of the vehicle, it was cleared and towed from the scene.

In total, the incident lasted around four hours and almost 300 flights were delayed or canceled as a result. Impacted airlines included American, Air Canada, British Airways and Southwest, and the facility temporarily shut down the PHX SkyTrain.

By Sunday night, operations at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport were returning to normal.

As for the driver, who claims he simply parked and went inside to help his girlfriend check in for her flight, Sgt. Thompson told AZCentral.com said the unidentified man would only face a parking citation worth $56 and additional towing fees.