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PHILADELPHIA — <\/span>Travelers passing through Philadelphia International Airport on Monday may have expected long security lines. But the longest line was made of cheesesteaks.<\/p>\n Organizers say they achieved a new Guinness World Record for the longest line of cheesesteak sandwiches, with 1,291 lined up inside a departure hall to mark National Cheesesteak Day. The display far surpassed the previous benchmark of 500 sandwiches.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went for the world record for the longest cheesesteak in history,\u201d said Clarence LeJeune of MarketPlace PHL, a company that operates airport concessions. \u201cToday we accomplished that goal here in Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n The cheesesteak, which originated in Philadelphia in the early 1900s, is widely considered the city’s signature food. LeJeune called it \u201csynonymous\u201d with Philadelphia, alongside its sports culture.<\/p>\n People in black aprons assembled cheesesteaks along tables set up in the walkway between Terminals B and C, filling rolls from silver buckets as they moved past storefronts.<\/p>\n After the record was certified, volunteers handed out the sandwiches to travelers, airport workers and Transportation Security Administration staff, who have been working without pay<\/a> during the government shutdown.<\/p>\n LeJeune joked there are few hard rules for cheesesteaks, which is part of the \u201cbeauty of the experience\u201d \u2014 except, he said, \u201cYou don\u2019t ask for Swiss cheese,” referencing a 2003 moment when then-presidential candidate John Kerry drew criticism in Philadelphia<\/a> for ordering one with Swiss.<\/p>\n Michael Empric, a Guinness World Records adjudicator, said rules require all food used in record attempts to be eaten or donated.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this case, they are going to TSA agents who definitely could use some lunch,\u201d Empric said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n