Here’s hoping this is another false alarm. Either way, it appears that transportation security is indeed on full alert, and possible threats are being handled quickly and decisively.

The Charleston, W.V. Gazette:

HUNTINGTON — Tri-State Airport in Huntington was evacuated just before 11:30 a.m. Thursday after a suspicious liquid was found in a passenger’s carry-on luggage.

A State Police bomb-sniffing dog reacted to the liquid in the luggage, according to Beckie McKinley, marketing director for the airport.

McKinley said the luggage belonged to a female passenger who was traveling on a US Airways flight departing at 9:17 a.m. for Charlotte, N.C.

In response to reporters’ questions, McKinley confirmed the woman was of Middle Eastern descent. She said the woman was not treated any differently because of her nationality.

McKinley said the woman had been “detained” by authorities.

As of 1:50 p.m., no flights were taking off or landing at the airport. Passengers and airport workers had been moved to a nearby building.

The plane to Charlotte was reportedly diverted to Yeager Airport in Charleston.

Update: Two local West Virginia TV stations are reporting that the woman is being held after her water bottle tested positive for explosive material.

WSAZ, which also has a live feed from the airport:

The Transportation Safety Administration reports that a passenger’s water bottle screened positive for an explosive material around 9:15 this morning. A second test was confirmed at 11:25.

And, the CBS affiliate:

A woman is being detained at the airport after she tried to go through security with two vials of an explosive material in her carry-on. No word if the women has been arrested, only that she has been detained. An airport employee tells 13News the woman is of Pakistani decent and was traveling alone.

The woman was trying to board flight 4168 about 9 from Huntington to Charleston this morning. The flight was allowed to leave but the women was detained. The FBI is handling the investigation.

Remember, of course, that a lot of the information that came out about yesterday’s scare in Boston– even that which came from the TSA and airport officials– turned out to be untrue. So, we’ll see what happens.

The TV is all JonBenet all the time right now, so nothing there.

Update 3:54pm: CNN is running a feed from one of the local WV stations. They report that officials are taking the suspicious items in questions out to a remote location with a robot.

The WV reporter says TSA employees at the airport told him there was a “strong possibility” there’s explosive material involved, but the TSA proper has not confirmed that. The passenger in question is a 28-year-old woman of Pakistani descent who lives in West Virginia, according to CNN.

Update 5:35pm: Officials are detonating the bottles.

Airport manager Larry Salyers said the bottles would be moved by robot to a remote area of the airport where officials would attempt to detonate them. National Guard and State Police explosive experts will conduct chemical field tests to determine what’s inside them, he said.

Update 5:47pm: Rusty hears something different.

In answer to question about whether bomb-squad had exploded substances, the reporter says no.

Two containers of liquid. If each was explosive on its own, wouldn’t bomb squad dispose of them? Does this mean that each is benign on its own and that only when mixed they are dangerous? Or does this simply mean that the substance which set off an electronic “sniffer” and which a trained bomb-sniffing dog immediately noticed just isn’t that dangerous? Dual use, perhaps?

UPDATE: TSA saying liquid is not “substance” but “residue”. The liquid is not explosive, but has residue of something in it.

Update 6:46pm: I’m going out, but Allah’s on it.

Update 10:12pm: Allah reports the substances were cosmetics. No threat.

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