Arrest in JFK airport terminal security breach

NEW YORK Jan 17 (Reuters) - A Haitian man has been charged with criminal trespass following a security breach that triggered the evacuation of a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Saturday, authorities said on Sunday.

Jules Paul Bouloute, 57, a Brooklyn resident, is accused of going through a door restricted to airport and airline employees after arriving on a flight from the Dominican Republic, setting off an alarm.

American Airlines Terminal 8 was cleared for several hours and thousands of passengers were delayed for rescreening after the breach, which happened shortly after 3 p.m. (2000 GMT), airline spokesman Charley Wilson said.

The Transportation Safety Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which has jurisdiction over the three major metropolitan area airports, ordered the evacuation. Passengers who had boarded also had to get off their planes and go through security again.

A security breach at Newark International Airport on Jan. 3 prompted a shutdown that delayed thousands of passengers at the end of the holiday weekend.

Authorities two week ago arrested the man suspected of setting off the scare, and charged him with defiant trespass. Security video showed the New Jersey resident slipping into a secure area at the airport to give a woman companion a goodbye kiss. (Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Xavier Briand)