PASSENGERS bound for Fiji found themselves in the middle of panic and hysteria at the Los Angeles International Airport — which later proved to be a false alarm.
The airport was on lockdown for a while after passengers on board a domestic flight ran in a state of fear when they heard a loud noise, believing it to be someone with a gun.
One of the passengers on board flight FJ811 bound for Fiji was Munro Leys legal executive Francesca Boulton
“It happened right here at the domestic area,” she said from inside LAX while it was still on lockdown.
She said the passengers ran to a corner of the domestic departure lounge when they heard people screaming and running for safety.
“We didn’t hear (the loud noise), but people ran towards us yelling.”
She said their luggage was stuck in the carousel and they were waiting for police to give the all clear.
The Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed reports of the false alarm at the airport.
The holdup, however, caused mass delays of flights including FJ811 which was scheduled to leave at 11.30pm from the US.
The flight is scheduled to arrive later today in Nadi.
Questions sent to Fiji Airways regarding the matter remained unanswered when this edition went to press last night.