Denver airport officials say hundreds of bags were loaded onto airplanes in late December without being run through security scanners.

An airport official told KMGH-TV in Denver that the incident involved ‘‘a couple thousands of bags over a couple of days.’’ The station said it had obtained records showing that the breach started on Christmas Day and lasted for seven days.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it was investigating but that it appeared the incident was an unintentional human error. It said in a statement that it had taken steps to ensure the error was corrected and that additional safeguards were put in place.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS