Passengers Delayed By Airplane Search At BWI

LINTHICUM, Md. (CBS/AP) -- Officials say passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport were delayed while authorities searched for an object "that raised the concerns of the airline."

BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean tells The Baltimore Sun that the flight was delayed for about an hour Monday evening, but that no object was found by federal and state law enforcement. Dean says passengers on Southwest flight 2365 from Florida were told to get off the plane after landing at 7:11 p.m.

Passengers took to social media after exiting the flight and described the situation, adding that they had to leave their belongings on the flight.

Twitter user Debby Hudson wrote on her account: "Our plane at BWI was just cleared for a random search. People off stuff stays on. ALL of it. Marshalls boarding. Yippee-I-A". She later added: "they just let us go. No word as to what or why. Just it was for (sic) "our safey" bathroom escorts and all."

Dean said the flight was allowed to continue on after the hourlong search and that "authorities acted with an abundance of caution."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.)