A suspicious device put an entire airport on alert, forcing the authorities to close part of the airport for several hours, only to discover that it was not a bomb. The alarm was triggered by a laser hair removal device and a pack of hot chocolate.
The bomb threat
The incident occurred around 6 am (local time) on Thursday 21 May, at Avalon Airport, located approximately 50 km south-west of Melbourne, Australia. The police intervened after the discovery of a suspicious package, which triggered a bomb threat. As reported by the authorities, the owner of the package, which contained a laser hair remover and a box of hot chocolate, is a boy originally from Melbourne.
The airport closed
The airport reopened only after four hours. As reported by Victoria Police Inspector Nick Uebergang, the situation dragged on longer due to the man’s behavior: “The person who had the bag wasn’t very cooperative from the start. He made things a little difficult. We probably could have avoided all of this and we could have gotten out of here a little quicker.”
Several passengers, interviewed by Melbourne’s ABC radio, spoke of a situation similar to the lockdown period: “We arrived at the airport at 7 in the morning and they had just ordered the closure. Nobody knew what was happening. We realized that it was something quite important because there were many police cars and other vehicles entering the airport.”
The passenger stopped
The authorities asked people to wait outside the airport, a necessary measure, as underlined by an airport spokesperson: “Precautionary measures were immediately taken to ensure the safety of passengers, staff and the entire community.” The passenger, intercepted by the microphones of 10News Melbourne, told of the checks carried out by the police on the suspicious objects and on the packages of hot chocolate, which the young man had brought as a gift for his friends.
The bomb threat, which later proved to be unfounded, caused several inconveniences at the Australian airport. Two domestic flights, one to Sydney and one departing from Sydney, were cancelled, while many others suffered heavy delays.