Police searching for man who set off alarm

German police said on Thursday they were searching for a middle-aged man in a business suit who walked away from a security check at Munich international airport after his laptop computer set off an explosives alarm.

Police said the man, who retrieved his laptop and left quickly before it could be re-examined, may have been oblivious that security wanted another look and could have boarded a flight just moments before the airport was shut down.

"We're searching for the man but I'd like to stress he is not wanted for any criminal matter," said Albert Poerschke, police spokesman at Franz Josef Strauss Airport. Some 100 flights were delayed and 33 scrapped in Wednesday's three-hour shutdown.

"It was evidently a businessman who wanted to catch his plane," he added. "The man probably didn't even realize that he was being requested to stay for another laptop examination."

Police said they only want to talk to the man, being dubbed by German media as "Mister X", about the incident.

They have surveillance camera images of the man, who they said appeared to be about 50 years old and wearing glasses. He left the security area quickly but did not dash away, they said.

Peter Pruemm, an airport spokesman, said that all passengers were evacuated from the terminal and required to clear security checks a second time. But the man in question was not found.

"We have a clear picture of him and he'll be recognized if he ever checks in again," the spokesman said.

German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere called it a serious security breach and ordered a thorough investigation.

"I'm taking this incident very seriously," de Maiziere told Deutschlandfunk radio. He said that there may be repercussions for security controls at Munich airport and, if structural problems were found, at other German airports as well.

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De Maiziere, eager to introduce body scanners at airports despite widespread opposition, used the blunder in Munich to float the idea of using scanners on a voluntary basis.

"Perhaps we could offer scanners as an option," he said, noting airports could have two security lines — one fast line for scanners and a slower line for in-depth checks. "We could then take a look and see what the acceptance level is then."

Airport security has been in the spotlight since the failed Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound airliner for which a Yemen-based al-Qaida affiliate claimed responsibility.

Authorities in Munich said they were reviewing and tightening security procedures.

"The instructions were clearly not followed," said Heinrich Schuster, spokesman for regional authorities. "A second check of the laptop was correctly requested. But the person let the man get out of sight and didn't ensure the laptop was re-checked."

Police told a news conference on Thursday that traces of perfume or oil could have set off the security device while police unions said the incident showed airport security — often handled by outside contractors — needed improvement.