Melbourne Airport Security scare shuts Avalon Airport for four hours

Melbourne's Avalon Airport was partially shut down for several hours on Thursday after airport security found a suspicious package that turned out to contain a laser hair removal device and a box for hot chocolate. Domestic flights were delayed, and two services were cancelled while international flights were not affected.

Victoria Police Acting Inspector Nick Uebergang said the bag's owner was not cooperative at first, which made the response last longer. The airport reopened about four hours later, and the man from Melbourne was later released without being charged.

Nick Uebergang at Avalon

Police were called to Avalon Airport just before 06:00 local time on Thursday after the package was found during security screening. Uebergang said, "The person who had the bag wasn't too cooperative with us to start off with" and added that it made "things a little bit difficult".

He also said, "They probably could have averted things and we could have got out of here a little bit quicker." The bomb squad checked the package and found the laser hair removal device and the hot chocolate box, ending the disruption at the airport about 50km south-west of Melbourne.

Avalon Airport flights

The shutdown affected domestic travel at Victoria's second busiest air hub. Two domestic flights, one to Sydney and one from Sydney, were cancelled, and several other flights were delayed.

Manjeet Singh, who was told to wait in the carpark, said, "There's no arrangements, no bathroom, no toilet, no beverages, no nothing," as passengers waited through the police response. Jetstar operates domestic and international flights from Avalon Airport, which reopened after about four hours.