> Thousands Excavated from Perth Airport after Suspicious Packages found
> Monday, May 05, 2008
>
> Perth International Airport was shut down for 12 hours from 6pm last
> night after several suspicious cardboard boxes were found on a plane
> from Malaysia.
>
> Thousands of passengers and staff had to be evacuated from the
> international terminal after baggage handlers noticed the packages on
> the incoming Malaysia Airlines Flight 125 from Kuala Lumpur.
>
> The packages were eventually x-rayed by the bomb squad and found to
> contain nothing dangerous, but not before eight international flights
> were either cancelled, diverted or delayed.
>
> Perth Airport CEO Brad Geatches said it took about 20 minutes to
> evacuate some 3,000 passengers and staff to an exclusion zone 2km from
> the airport buildings.
>
> Police also had to hold back thousands more people arriving at the
> airport to board flights or collect friends and loved ones.
>
> Assistant Police Commissioner John McRoberts says it was one of the
> biggest police operations ever undertaken at the airport.
> “We are treating it as a very serious incident. We have responded in
> accordance with our standard operating procedures for these types of
> events.
>
> “The inconvenience to passengers and others is regretted, however I
> hope people understand this is for the safety of not only people, but
> the aircraft, the terminal building and the airport surrounds.
> "This is a major incident for us and we are responding appropriately,"
> he said.
> Mr McRoberts would not explain what alerted police to the
> unaccompanied freight, but said they were part of a consignment
> destined for someone in Perth.
>
> That person was spoken to by police last night and their story checked
> out with what police found when the boxes were x-rayed at a safe site
> on the airport grounds.
>
> Police refused to say what was in the packages, fearing copycat
> events.
>
> The airport was evacuated one hour after the packages were identified,
> but due to unexplained delays in the operation it took another nine
> hours before they were x-rayed.
>
> Mr Geatches described it as "successful from every measure" although
> passengers complained that the excavation had been poorly organized.
>
> Mr Geatches said these sorts of events unfold very rapidly and are
> extremely complex.
>
> "You are dealing with a large number of people in the terminals, a
> large number of people arriving, you have a large number of aircraft
> at various stages of approach and departure from the airport," he
> said.
>
> "These are very complex issues. I can assure you they were managed
> very professionally."
> Mr Geatches also defended Kuala Lumpur airport, where the packages
> were loaded, saying he had every confidence in its security.
>
> Perth International Airport was re-opened at 5.30am this morning.
> Further hold-ups are expected today as passengers attempt to board
> flights cancelled overnight.
>
> Source = e-Travel Blackboard: C.F