'Suspicious item' at Willard Airport turns out to be pressure cooker

May 14—SAVOY — A small cooking appliance briefly caused a stir Monday night at Willard Airport.

Executive Director Tim Bannon explained that a traveler had attempted to fly with an Instant Pot cooker but was advised at the security checkpoint that he couldn't take it on the flight because it could potentially have lithium-ion batteries.

"The person went down, away from the checkpoint, out on the front curb, and left the Instant Pot next to a trash can underneath the canopy out front, where the passengers drop off and pick up," Bannon said.

Around 4:30 p.m., another passenger spotted the pressure cooker and reported it to a University of Illinois police officer stationed at the airport, which is owned by the UI.

Out of caution, police categorized it as a "suspicious item" and closed the airport's loop road while they verified the object was not dangerous.

The airport terminal was immediately evacuated and cordoned off, and the East Central Illinois Bomb Squad was called to inspect the suspicious item. The bomb squad eventually determined that the pressure cooker was not an explosive device.

UI police spokesman Pat Wade said there was no nefarious intent.

The incident lasted about 90 minutes, Bannon said. The scene was cleared and the airport was back to normal operation by about 6 p.m. No flights were affected.