NEW YORK (AP) - A passenger has been arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport after authorities say he threatened a worker at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter.

The police action early Saturday shut down the ticketing area of the airport's main terminal temporarily and forced a partial evacuation.

The New York Police Department's bomb squad responded to the scene and checked a bag but no explosives were found. The identity of the man was not immediately released.

Joe Pentangelo, a spokesman with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the threat was made by a passenger at about 7:15 a.m. in Terminal B. He says the airport was functioning normally by 9:30 a.m. Port Authority police interviewed the man and charges were pending.

The Port Authority operates New York's three major airports.