NEWARK — Screening at Newark Liberty International Airport was halted three times over a five-day period after passengers left security checkpoints without being cleared, the Transportation Security Administration confirmed today.

None of the incidents involved a deliberate attempt by passengers to avoid screening, and in each case, the passengers were able to board their flights, the agency said.

The mishaps come just days after Newark’s federal security director and her regional supervisor were replaced in the wake of a string of embarrassing security lapses and harsh criticism of local security operations.

The most recent incident occurred at 7 a.m. today at Checkpoint 1 inside Terminal B, when a passenger left the screening area prematurely, said Ann Davis, a TSA spokeswoman. Screening was halted for 18 minutes while the woman was located and re-screened, Davis said.

On Monday, screening at Checkpoint 2 inside Terminal A was halted for 18 minutes, when a passenger grabbed her bag off the X-ray conveyor belt and left the screening area, even though the bag had been flagged for further inspection, Davis said.

The woman and her bag were rescreened and allowed to proceed to the gate area. And in another incident at Terminal B, screening at Checkpoint 3 was halted for 12 minutes on Friday, when a passenger flagged during a full-body scan walked out of the screening area before being rescreened.

Davis said Friday’s incident involved a "communication issue" between screeners.

Poor communication was a problem cited in a stinging analysis of TSA operations in Newark prepared by the airport’s own security managers and discussed during staff meetings on April 7, two weeks before the airport’s federal security director, Barbara Bonn Powell, was replaced by Donald Drummer, a former deputy director at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

Davis said Drummer is conducting a "top down assessment and assertively taking measures to move TSA Newark forward in a way that ensures optimal security for travelers and an optimal workplace environment for his team."

By Steve Strunsky and Mike Frassinelli/The Star-Ledger

Previous coverage:

• Newly appointed Newark airport federal security director addresses staff

• After blistering critique, Newark airport TSA chief steps down to take job at agency headquarters

• Newark airport federal security director resigns after string of security lapses

• TSA addresses airport screening concerns at Newark Liberty by forming working group

• Local TSA managers admit Newark airport security has deep-seated security problems

• U.S. panel calls for free baggage check among reforms to smooth airport screening process

• TSA officer charged with impersonating police officer during Roselle Park traffic stop

• Massachusetts woman admits to planning to sell cocaine she, husband bought for $41K at Newark airport

• Security lapses at Newark airport prompt U.S. Sen Lautenberg to call for investigation

• Newark airport checkpoint closes for 20 minutes in latest security breach