A passenger wearing anti-static shoes triggered a security alert at Rome's main airport today, forcing the partial evacuation of a terminal housing Israeli airline El Al and major US carriers.
Airport officials said staff at El Al's check-in desk hit the panic button after a man passed through their metal detectors wearing shoes that had copper earthing wires embedded in them to ward against static.
Some bystanders were herded through security gates to get away from the suspect passenger, while scores of other people were ordered out of Terminal C at Fiumicino Airport.
"All the alarms sounded as the security doors were opened to allow people to pass through. There was a panic. Two girls from Alitalia couldn't stop crying," a cleaning lady told Reuters.
An airport source said the man who set off the alarm was eventually allowed to board the Tel Aviv-bound flight after security staff had checked his unusual footwear.
A pair of anti-static shoes, used to prevent electric shocks from everyday materials like carpets or computers and in explosion-prone work environments, set off a similar alarm at Rome airport a year ago.