On Aug. 2, one of the busiest terminals at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was evacuated due to bomb scare, authorities said.

A warning was issued after an X-ray machine showed one bag had a "dense mass with wires attached to it," according to the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) Bomb Squad.

But the suspicious item turned out to be a book and computer cables, said the bomb squad.

The suspicious item was found by federal Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) inspectors, rompting a partial evacuation at Terminal One, said Sgt. Jim Holcomb of the Los Angeles World Airport Police.

Terminal One, which serves Southwest Airlines and US Airways, was emptied of passengers and employees at about 7:40 a.m., the LAX traffic information radio service AM 530 reported.

"Airport police cleared the area around the item," he said. "The LAPD Bomb Squad responded and determined that the item was not an explosive device. The terminal was re-populated at 8:30 a.m."

Holcomb said the package probably belonged to a passenger who was running late.

"Someone couldn't find that person and just put the package onto the X-ray machine and drove off," he said.

Traffic on the upper deck of the airport's access road was severely backed-up as several lanes were closed to make way for hundreds of evacuees, delaying persons heading to the other seven LAX terminals.

The LAX snafu added to delays facing many passengers heading to the New York area, where thunderstorms were causing ground delays of about 3 hours 30 minutes for flights heading to John F. Kennedy International Airport, AM 530 reported.