Christchurch airport has reopened following a temporary evacuation, after a suspicious item was found inside the domestic terminal. An airport spokesperson said an item of interest was found at about 8am on Thursday but “no threats had been made”.
Level one in the domestic terminal and the food court had been evacuated as a precaution, they said.
The bomb disposal unit arrived on scene at about 9.15am.
The spokesperson said all flights had momentarily stopped until the police could give the area clearance.
The terminal re-opened at around 10.40am and people were re-entering, but several flights have been disrupted and several hundred passengers affected, the airport said.
Police said the bag belonged to a couple, and they were speaking to two people in relation to the incident.
Sergeant Paul Piper said the Defence Force’s bomb disposal team used a machine to open the bag and there was nothing suspicious inside, Stuff reported.
The Aviation Security Service told TVNZ that an Avsec officer identified what appeared to be an “improvised explosive device” at one of the security screening points, though a police spokesperson later told the news station it was not a bomb threat but would not reveal what prompted the evacuation.
Avsec incident protocols were quickly activated and the area isolated before police were called in, TVNZ reported.
The New Zealand Herald reports that hundreds of people are standing outside the terminal, waiting to know what was going on.
A traveller named Lance told the Herald he was an affected traveller.
“We were upstairs in the Koru Lounge and there was an announcement to say evacuate the building immediately. The sirens went off.
“We were waiting for a flight. It was meant to go at 9.10am but I doubt it. It could be a couple of hours.”
