NEW YORK -- The Delta Airlines terminal at La Guardia Airport was evacuated for about 90 minutes Friday because of a security breach, inconveniencing hundreds of travelers, authorities said.

Aircraft that had left the terminal and taxied out to runways were ordered back to the terminal, said Federal Aviation Administration spokes-man Jim Peters. He said the evacuation began at about 10 a.m.

An official for an airline, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a passenger on a stretcher had passed through a security checkpoint, but two medical workers accompanying the patient were not screened. When authorities learned of this, the official said, they ordered the terminal evacuated.

The terminal was reopened at about 11:30 a.m.