Sen. Lautenberg: Newark airport security breaches 'like deja vu'

New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) said Monday that a security breach over the weekend at his home state's Newark Liberty International Airport felt like "déjà vu."

A terminal at Newark was shut down for three hours Sunday after a passenger passed through a security checkpoint without being screened, the Transportation Security Administration confirmed on Monday.

Lautenberg said the flight delays that resulted from the incident were unacceptable.

"The breaches at Newark Liberty feel like déjà vu. Despite significant changes, there continue to be unacceptable security lapses that threaten passenger safety and erode the reliability of our airport,” Lautenberg said in a statement. 

“Because of a screening error, hundreds of flights were delayed and canceled, inconveniencing thousands of passengers around the country," he continued. "A recent federal investigation that I requested exposed serious problems at Newark Liberty, and I will keep fighting to make sure TSA takes the corrective actions needed to bring these incidents to an end.”

TSA said the terminal at Newark was shut down "out of an abundance of caution" so security personnel at the airport could look for the unscreened passenger.

"After an exhaustive search, it was determined that the passenger departed Newark Liberty on a flight to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport," the agency said in statement provided to The Hill. "TSA resumed normal screening operations in Terminal C shortly before noon."

-This post was updated with new information at 3:46 p.m.

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