Birmingham airport evacuated amid security threat, officials say

Courtesy @blakeevitt / Twitter

A view outside the Birmingham Airport in Alabama on Sunday, Nov. 3.

By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

A security threat at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport prompted an evacuation Sunday afternoon, the airport said.

Airport and law enforcement officials "are responding to a threat received around 4:00 p.m. The terminal has been evacuated," the airport said on a post on its Facebook page.

Nearly all outgoing flights have been delayed, and at least seven incoming flights have been diverted to other airports, including the Huntsville International Airport, Nashville International Airport and Montgomery Regional Airport, according to real-time tracking information on the airport's website.

Chris Kieffer, 31, a resident of Tupelo, Miss., who drove to the Alabama airport to catch a flight to Atlanta, said everyone inside the airport was instructed to go outside, where they await additional information.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.