Travelers stuck in extremely long lines at Hobby Airport

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Scores of people waited in long lines Thursday morning at Hobby Airport, some tell us for more than two hours to check in for domestic flights, after Southwest Airlines says there was problem with TSA checkpoints.

At one point, the line ran all the way down the outdoor sidewalk outside the departure area, and into car lanes.

Southwest issued this statement to Eyewitness News when our viewers began venting on Twitter about the long lines. "Our People at the Houston Hobby airport are working with Southwest Customers whose immediate travel plans are being impacted by long lines at the TSA checkpoint. We're asking anyone who might be traveling later today to build in extra time for airport check-in. Flexible re-accommodation options are also available on southwest.com for those Customers who would like to proactively change their travel plans."

A particular book passed out at the Delta Sigma Theta sorority conference triggered security alarms. Almost every passenger who attended the conference had a copy of that book in their checked luggage. When the alarms were triggered, the bags had to be manually inspected. In addition, a few TSA machines broke. That combined with the sheer volume of travelers created the perfect storm for delays.

Roughly the same amount of passengers are expected to fly out on Friday. Airport officials don't expect to encounter as many problems, but they advise passengers to arrive as early as possible.