Authorities briefly cleared the departure level at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Saturday afternoon amid a bomb scare, local media outlets reported.

Passengers outside the screening area at the upper departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which is a major part of LAX, was evacuated after a male suspect grabbed a passenger's luggage outside and ran into the facility at 5:03 p.m.(0003 GMT Sunday), Albert Rodriguez of the LAX operator -- Los Angeles World Airports said.

The terminal was shut down for 20 minutes as police took the male into custody and carried out a security sweep. The man claimed that the luggage he had taken was a bomb.

An investigation turned out that there was no bomb inside. The area reopened at 5:30 p.m. (0030 GMT Sunday) and no outbound flights were delayed as a result, Rodriguez said.