Some 500 people were evacuated temporarily from Indianapolis International Airport early today, after a man passed through screeners carrying an urn believed to contain human remains.

Concourses B and C were closed at 6:20 a.m. following the incident, and reopened at 7:35 a.m.
Workers for the Transportation Security Administration, which oversees airport security, evacuated the area “to sweep and sterilize it,” said Susan Sullivan, an airport spokesperson.

“Details are still coming in,” Sullivan said, adding there were no arrests.

The decision to evacuate the area was made “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a statement released by Lara Uselding, a TSA spokesperson.

This morning's action prompted eight flights to be delayed, affecting nearly 700 passengers, but none was cancelled.

Passengers are allowed to carry a crematory container as part of their carry-on luggage, Uselding said, but the container must pass through the X-ray machine. If the container is made of a material that generates an opaque image and prevents the security screener from clearly being able to see what is inside, then the container cannot be allowed through the security checkpoint.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported that airline delays continue to mount. In August, Indianapolis International's on-time arrival rate fell to 70.2 percent from 76.3 percent for August 2006. Nationally for the same period, the on-time arrival rate fell from 75.8 percent to 71.7 percent.