Terminal C of Newark International Airport near New York City was closed temporarily on Sunday night after a man walked through the wrong side of a checkpoint exit, CNN reported.

Anne Davis, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), told CNN that authorities are reviewing video from the monitoring system and searching for the man who walked from the public side to the sterile side.

She added that all the passengers who had reached the sterile area have been asked to be re-screened and no flights are allowed to leave from Terminal C where Continental Airlines, America West Airlines and Flybe British European Airlines operate their flights.

Newark International Airport, 24 km southwest of New York City, is the fifth busiest international airport in the United States, handling more than 35 million passengers annually.

Earlier on Sunday, TSA released new security procedures for travelers of U.S.-bound flights from foreign countries, especially seven countries that are deemed as "terrorism sponsors."

All travelers from Nigeria, Yemen, Pakistan, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria flying into the United States will be patted down and have carry-on luggage searched under new security procedures starting from Jan. 4.

The new measure was mandated after a Nigerian attempted to blow up a U.S. international flight from the Netherlands to the United States with an explosive device attached to his body on Christmas. An al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group based in Yemen claimed responsibility for the bombing plot.

TSA said in a statement when releasing the new security procedures that the directive includes "long-term, sustainable security measures developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and our domestic and international partners."

TSA also said that all international passengers will be screened and the majority of passengers will be screened using threat-based or random measures.