LaGuardia Airport’s central terminal was evacuated Saturday after a Manhattan kook was busted with a fake bomb in his bag, authorities said.

The NYPD Bomb Squad investigated, and it turned out the suspect had a bunch of batteries taped together to look like dynamite with wires sticking out, sources said.

But the damage was done.

After the 6 a.m. scare, thousands of passengers were rushed out of the concourse and even herded off planes waiting to take off on the runway.

Flights in and out of the airport were grounded indefinitely, and air traffic across the country was expected to be delayed as a result.

Richard Bock, 59, a Gramercy Park psychologist had been waiting to get on a plane with his wife and 7-year-old daughter to fly to a wedding in Milwaukee.
“All we know is that they told us to get out of the airport.” Bock said. “Someone told me to exit the terminal and run. Then I saw all the fire and police trucks coming, and we’ve been told all our flights will be delayed.”

Michael Joseph, 29, of Mamaroneck was on the tarmac on a Southwest Airlines plane, heading to Chicago for his sister’s 2 p.m. wedding.
“They said they had a [Transportation Security Administration] emergency and we had to evacuate. People were very confused.”