A security scare that prompted a partial lockdown of Victoria's Avalon airport and caused multiple flight delays was triggered by a laser hair removal device, police have confirmed.
Victoria police stated that the discovery of a suspicious item led to a safety check at the airport shortly after 6am on Thursday. The airport, situated near Geelong, was partially evacuated, and a section was cordoned off as a precaution while police conducted their investigation.
After the airport fully reopened, police reported: "The Bomb Response Unit conducted checks on an item, and it was determined to be a laser hair removal device."
Inspector Nick Uebergang explained that a man was detained after the package was found inside a bag on a conveyor belt during a security check. "It was an electrical laser hair removal and a cardboard-cylinder hot chocolate container," he told reporters on Thursday.
He added: "It's fair to say that the person that had the bag probably wasn't too co-operative with us to start off with, which made things more difficult. It probably could have averted things, and we could have got out of here a lot quicker. He wasn't giving us too much information at all on what was in his bag."
No charges have been filed, and the man was released without further action.
An Avalon airport spokesperson commented that the "response demonstrates the vigilance of the screening and security processes" and that precautionary measures were "taken immediately to ensure the safety of passengers, staff and the broader community." This followed an earlier statement that a suspicious item was found during screening, prompting police involvement.
Several travellers contacted talkback radio stations to discuss their disrupted travel plans. One man, David, told 3AW Breakfast that he arrived for a scheduled flight to Brisbane but was unable to enter the terminal. "There's people queued up for miles," he said. "They blocked it off at the entrance way where the roundabout is, people actually walking out on foot from the airport. They've sort of blocked us off."
A flight to Brisbane was delayed, according to Lisa, who was scheduled to depart just before 9am. She described the situation as "a bit of mayhem," telling ABC Melbourne that "no one knew what was going on." She added: "We knew something was fairly significant, lots of police cars going into the airport."
The airport anticipated additional delays throughout the day.
