Passengers were evacuated from the Bermuda International Airport arrivals area yesterday after a Code Red anthrax alert closed the terminal.

Emergency services cordoned off the area by 7.30 a.m. after staff discovered an area of white powder on the floor of the arrivals hall - leaving passengers to be whisked off their aircraft without the usual Customs' inspections after collecting bags.

The anthrax scare set in motion a makeshift arrangement which had arriving passengers being processed by Immigration in the international departures area and picking up their luggage in record time.

Baggage trolleys brought their luggage out to the front of the building just outside the departures area. And barriers were erected to keep the passengers from their waiting friends and relatives until they had picked up their luggage.

Three flights - from Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia - arrived between midday and 1 p.m., disgorging 233 passengers in total. By 1.45 p.m. the vast majority were well on their way home.

Passengers were a little confused but pleasantly surprised that they got out of the airport so quickly. All of the arriving passengers The Royal Gazette spoke to yesterday afternoon said they were not inspected by Customs.

“It was quicker than normal - they just waved everyone through,” said one passenger.

Collector of Customs Winifred Fostine DeSilva could not be contacted for comment.

“It was well organised,” said a student returning home for the holidays. “We got out faster than we normally would. We weren't told anything - we were just directed as to where we should go.”

Another passenger said he thought the Airport was undergoing construction work.

Airport duty officer William Nearon came across a thin layer of white powder on the floor of the arrivals hall as he made the rounds at 6 a.m.

The powder covered a one and a half square foot area, Mr. Nearon told The Royal Gazette.

He was 30 feet away and didn't venture any closer. Instead he alerted airport authorities and emergency services initiated a Code Red response. By 7.30 a.m., the entire arrivals area had been secured, evacuated and cordoned off and men in space suits had removed the substance for analysis.

“There was nothing leading to or away from it,” Mr. Nearon said. “A Police officer saw partial footprints in the powder itself. What makes it even stranger is there's nothing else there.” Mr. Nearon speculated that the substance must have appeared after the late night American Airlines flight and could not be drugs because sniffer dogs on patrol would have detected it as such.

Health Department officials arrived shortly after the substance was discovered and to give a health briefing to those who had been in the vicinity of the arrivals hall.

Should the substance turn out to be a biological agent such as anthrax, they would be immediately put on antibiotics.

Analysis is expected to be completed today.

Mike Osborne, the airport's acting general manager, said that it had been decided to leave it to the airlines to decide what to tell the passengers. He agreed that the contingency plan for the passengers had gone very well.

“All the agencies worked really well together,” he said. “Passengers were moved through in a manner that inconvenienced them the least. Some said the system was smoother than normal.”

When asked he said that no consideration was given to diverting aircraft from the airport.

“We knew we could operate without using the facilities affected. And each of the rooms has a stand-alone air conditioning unit.”