Tweed New Haven Airport was shut down for approximately three hours today after an employee noticed a suspicious package at the front doors to the main terminal.

New Haven Police Department spokesman Joe Avery said the New Haven Fire Department and bomb squad were notified at about 11:30 a.m. and were sent to the scene, where they detonated the package and found nothing inside. Timothy Larson, executive director of the Tweed Airport Authority, said the package resembled a home safe.

Larson said about 20 passengers on board a flight to Philadelphia, which was scheduled to depart at 11:30, were deplaned and moved to the airport’s administration building on the west side of the property, along with other staff members.

At the same time, another flight arrived at Tweed, and its passengers joined the other travelers and employees waiting for operations to continue at the airport. Though some passengers were able to leave the airport by taxi and personal rides, others were not able to get to their cars until police resolved the situation, Larson said.

Airport operations resumed at 2:30 p.m., he said.