Bomb scare closes Qantas terminal at Perth Domestic Airport

[thewinchester]

Warning, this is from NoNews but they'd not normally run a story like this unless there was some truth to the matter:

Bomb scare closes Qantas terminal at Perth Domestic Airport
PerthNow, January 25, 2010, 11:22AM

HUNDREDS of passengers at Perth's Domestic Airport have been delayed after an apparent bomb scare.

Terminal 2 - the Qantas terminal - has been reopened after hundreds of passengers were moved into an airport carpark, and vehicles denied entry this morning.

The situation has been described as chaotic by one passenger who reports luggage is being held and conveyor belts are not in operation.

Security have moved people away from windows and airline staff have been instructed to go back to their aircraft.

A Qantas spokeswoman said she did not have further information on the situation at present.

Perth Airport were also unable to provide comment because the terminal is run by Qantas.

More to come

 

[thewinchester]

Something from a news outlet with more skills and contacts:

Perth airport domestic terminal evacuated
STEPHANIE PAINTER, The West Australian
January 25, 2010, 11:31 am

UPDATE: Police have discovered what they are describing as a "suspicious item" at Terminal 2 at Perth airport.

"They are currently examining that suspicious item and are planning to move it to a safe area to undertake further examinations," the spokesman said.

Police say the terminal has been reopened, but passengers may experience delays.

Earlier, the terminal was evacuated with hundreds of passengers and staff ordered out of the terminal and into a nearby car park.

A spokeswoman for Westralia Airports Corporation confirmed the incident.

The terminal hosts Qantas and Jetstar Airways.

"We have just been advised that at the Qantas terminal there is a situation there. Well not a situation but it has been evacuated," the spokeswoman said.

It is understood that there are concerns about baggage in the processing area behind the check-in counter.

 

[anat0l]

Love the comments so far on the NoNews article.

Other than that, what a kerfuffle, but a rather hastily posted news item too.

 

[thewinchester]

Love the comments so far on the NoNews article.

And which comments would those be:

1. Conspiracy nuts who wern't there and blame everything on the Liberal Party/government fear elements/the Illuminati?
2. Those who were there, and think that pulling a Clare Werbeloff by blowing the story out of proportion is a good thing to do? or
3. The ones who suggest that any form of explosive device going off at PER would be of great service to the nation as we'd finally get the facilities we deserve and so desperately need?

While I wouldn't condone the loss of life from the third group, they're not half wrong.

 

[MelUser]

What was the liquid in the baggage?

We will end up like the US where they are scared of their own shadows at airports!

 

[DrA]

WA police said four bottles of the liquid were found in luggage aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai to Perth on Monday.

Ok, forgive my stupidity here...But if the suspicious bottles were found on a DXB-PER flight, why was the domestic airport evacuated?

Shouldn't the guy's baggage have been screened at T1 when he picked it up (to clear customs) before transferring to the Qantas domestic terminal for his flight to Sydney?

 

[NYCguy]

Love the comments so far on the NoNews article.

As my Westralian cousin would say, the Rockingham Retards ride again!

And these people are allowed to vote (and breed)?

 

[thewinchester]

Ok, forgive my stupidity here...But if the suspicious bottles were found on a DXB-PER flight, why was the domestic airport evacuated?

Shouldn't the guy's baggage have been screened at T1 when he picked it up (to clear customs) before transferring to the Qantas domestic terminal for his flight to Sydney?

Bags were re-screened before being loaded at T2 on a domestic flight.

It's important to note that not all bags leaving T1 are x-ray screened. The red channel lanes at PER don't have x-rays generally, and they only would if they had a need to screen you more closely.

I can attest to this, having used the red channel and virtually waved through on at least two separate occasions. I'd given a comprehensive declaration, made both the AQIS and CBP lane screeners laugh her coughs off, and when arriving at the bench, handed the card over, cursory look through the top bags and cleared to exit in 30sec.

My suggestions for getting through border checks quickly at PER:

• Use SmartGate if you're holding a compatible passport,
• Carry some commercially packaged chocolates,
• Get kissed by a Giraffe, or any other exotic animal for that matter at a zoo in a foreign country.

As my Westralian cousin would say, the Rockingham Retards ride again!

And these people are allowed to vote (and breed)?

Yes, and much to my dismay. Bring me Charles Darwin and his Chainsaw of Natural Selection, quickly.

 

[DrA]

My suggestions for getting through border checks quickly at PER:

• Use SmartGate if you're holding a compatible passport,
• Carry some commercially packaged chocolates,
• Get kissed by a Giraffe, or any other exotic animal for that matter at a zoo in a foreign country.

I've tried using SmartGate at a couple of airports, but given that most of my travel these days is to Africa and South America, I tend to get the "go line up" screen. That being said, while they make me go line up for immigration, I do get through quarantine quickly because I'll usually have ticked yes to having been in Africa or South America recently. It has its pros and cons

 

[notmensa]

The SMH article at 5:07 by AJA Styles (I can't post the link, I'm under 10 posts to the forum!) is more confusing:

"The man, who was on an Emirates flight from Perth to Dubai via Sydney, arrived in Perth this morning, but quickly jumped on a flight back to Sydney, where he was picked up by authorities. He is being questioned."

And then it's straight into interviews with "disgruntled passengers"...

 

[codash1099]

The SMH article at 5:07 by AJA Styles (I can't post the link, I'm under 10 posts to the forum!) is more confusing:

"The man, who was on an Emirates flight from Perth to Dubai via Sydney, arrived in Perth this morning, but quickly jumped on a flight back to Sydney, where he was picked up by authorities. He is being questioned."

And then it's straight into interviews with "disgruntled passengers"...

There's no way he could "quickly jump a flight to Sydney" - he had to transfer to T2 and most here know how long that takes. And he was travelling from Dubai to Sydney via Perth.

And it stuffed the airport for quite a while. I was there picking up my brother and it was a mess. Crowds, baggage delays, disorganisation - the lot.

And it turns out the liquid in the bottles was water.

I don't object to treating it seriously, but the organisation was terrible. If there really was something suspect about the baggage, why allow its owner to get on a plane?

 

[StevePER]

Here's a follow-up article from The Age:

A 'suspicious' liquid detected in the bags of a man who had flown from Dubai has turned out to be four bottles of water, the Australian Federal Police say.
The discovery of the water sparked the partial evacuation of a terminal at Perth Airport on Monday morning, causing major disruptions for passengers.

full article

 

[clifford]

And it turns out the liquid in the bottles was water.

Water!

Makes you feel confident about the competence of the security screeners.

However, the police would have been happy; get off work for several hours, which would also make the Perth criminals happy.

C'mon Australia, get real! Nothing more to be said.