Birmingham airport shutdown caused by security test BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) =97 Four suspicious people spotted near airplanes at= =20 Birmingham International Airport, prompting a two-hour shutdown that=20 delayed hundreds of travelers, were identified Wednesday as federal workers= =20 conducting a security test. Airport spokeswoman Patty Howell said the four worked for the=20 Transportation Safety Administration, the federal agency formed to oversee= =20 airport security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "The TSA has=20 informed us the four were TSA employees in town to do a random security=20 test," said Howell. "In a sense, we passed. We do regret that we increased= =20 the hassle factor for passengers." A spokeswoman with the federal agency=20 did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment. Airline=20 employees saw two groups of two people each on the ramp outside the=20 terminal about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Howell said. All four were between the=20 building and airplanes. Approached by the airline workers, the people said they were with security,= =20 according to Howell, but they lacked the proper identification badges. The= =20 airline workers contacted airport managers, who then contacted the local=20 TSA office. "The local TSA office made the decision to lock down the=20 airport," Howell said. About 10 flights with as many as 300 passengers were= =20 delayed while police and security looked for the four. Passengers who=20 already had been checked for identification and screened to enter the=20 concourse had to repeat the process, including dozens who had to get off=20 airplanes. The incident was the second security scare at the Birmingham=20 airport in less than four months. In November, two cars crashed through a=20 locked gate and raced across a runway and taxiways before ramming another=20 locked gate to escape. No one was arrested. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.tha.gov.tt/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************