Partial evacuation made at LaGuardia

Planes held on tarmac while passengers rescreened

Four United flights were being held on the tarmac while passengers were being rescreened in LaGuardia's Concourse C.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- An area of LaGuardia Airport was evacuated by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) Friday after "a dangerous item" was noticed during a security screening, officials told CNN.

Concourse C was cleared and passengers were rescreened after a security officer reported a suspicious object in a bag that had gone through the X-ray machine around 11 a.m. EDT, TSA spokesman Dave Steigman told CNN.

The bag was not hand-checked, as is standard TSA procedure, and the passenger continued into the terminal.

United Airlines officials told CNN that three United flights, two outgoing and one incoming, were held on the tarmac until the situation was resolved, affecting approximately 320 passengers.

The two outbound flights were brought back to the gate and the passengers were rescreened and then reloaded onto the planes, which were then expected to depart after a delay of several hours, said United spokesman Joe Hopkins.

Port Authority officials said the concourse, which is also used by American, Spirit and AirTran airlines, was cleared at 12:15 p.m.

TSA officials could not confirm details of the security breach or the passenger in question.