MEL T1 Security Breach

[33kft]

All passengers at Terminal 1 at Melbourne Airport must be rescreened, including those already on board their plane, after a major security breach.

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/security-breach-causes-chaos-at-melbourne-airport-flights-grounded/news-story/7b48a1e1e4108cf54d584fa7817918e6

Qantas manages security operations in Terminal 1 and said a passenger appeared to have “inadvertently passed from an ‘unscreened’ area to a ‘screened’ area” of the airport.

Sounds familiar...

 

[RooFlyer]

If you have a ‘nasty’ with you, and somehow get through security with it undetected and then are recalled to be rescreened with everyone else, what’s to stop you secreting the nasty somewhere on your way out, to re-collect it once you are back in?

 

[BAM1748]

If you have a ‘nasty’ with you, and somehow get through security with it undetected and then are recalled to be rescreened with everyone else, what’s to stop you secreting the nasty somewhere on your way out, to re-collect it once you are back in?

Not much. You'd like to think the police, the real police, would complete a thorough walk around with a sniffer dog but the commercial pressure to reopen would make that a run around.

 

[33kft]

I would say a lot of CCTV review would happen, and any areas that the passenger entered would be searched. It's going to be much easier if they just went to the gate, if they went browsing and into multiple restrooms, that's going to make it less fun.

What they really wouldn't want to see is the person interacting with other pax.

 

[33kft]

So here's how it happened:

Just after 11am on Tuesday Qantas, who manages security in the terminal, explained a passenger on a flight from Perth had exited “the sterile area” of the terminal to the baggage carousel instead of going directly to his connecting flight.

The airline said he was in the baggage area for less than a minute, before he walked back through the one-way security doors the wrong way, presumably because he realised he didn’t need to collect his bag.

An alarm was triggered and the doors briefly locked, however the customer was able to get back into the sterile area.

Sounds like a passenger followed the herd and realised last minute that they were now landside, and brute forced themselves back airside.

In Adelaide, there was an incident about 3 hours later:

Hundreds of travellers have been evacuated from Adelaide Airport shortly after similar chaos unfolded in Melbourne.
Just after 9am (local time), Adelaide officials asked everyone in the terminal to exit due to “operational reasons”, according to posts on Twitter.

All passengers already past security were asked to exit retail and gate lounges.

A spokesperson confirmed with news.com.au the airport is “currently investigating a security breach” that occurred Tuesday shortly after 9am.

Bit of a mess today

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/security-breach-causes-chaos-at-melbourne-airport-flights-grounded/news-story/7b48a1e1e4108cf54d584fa7817918e6

 

[jrfsp]

gives AJ great examples of not being match fit....

 

[AIRwin]

In Adelaide, there was an incident about 3 hours later

And BNE's turn today

 

[AIRwin]

Another security breach this morning - hopefully nobody connecting to the inaugural QF3 in SYD?

 

[AIRwin]

And it's happened again

 

[Mwenenzi]

And it's happened again

Now back to normal screening, but a delay early morning will/could have knock on effect all day

Major delays at Melbourne Airport after security screening issue

There are major delays at Melbourne Airport after an alleged security breach issue.

www.9news.com.au

https://www.news.com.au/travel/qantas-flights-reportedly-grounded-after-security-incident-at-melbourne-airport/news-story/8dd334c5a9303112b751ef27e32e1719

The shutdown was reportedly caused by a passenger needing to be rescreened by airport security after passing through unchecked.

A Melbourne Airport spokesperson confirmed the security screening process at Qantas Terminal 1 was shutdown between 6.25-6.50am.

The spokesperson could not confirm the cause of the shutdown as the terminal’s security systems were operated by Qantas.