The security breach at Adelaide Airport that caused the evacuation of the main terminal was caused by human error

Briefly:

Adelaide Airport’s main terminal has been evacuated due to a security breach, causing major disruption and flight delays.

Airport management said the breach occurred when passengers on a regional flight entered the terminal without being properly screened.

What is expected next?

The airport management said that operations have returned to normal.

Adelaide Airport says human error is behind a security breach that resulted in the evacuation of the main terminal on Monday morning.

Passengers arriving on a regional flight from Kingscote entered the main terminal area without going through security just before 11am, the airport said.

Adelaide Airport spokesman Dermot O’Neill said about 15 flights and 1,500 passengers were delayed for up to two hours.

“Passengers arriving in Adelaide from regional airports that are not screened … are required to be screened before entering the Adelaide Airport main area,” he said.

“We take Adelaide Airport’s security performance very seriously.”

Mr O’Neill said operations at Adelaide Airport had returned to normal and encouraged passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.

Passengers in the country are being checked again.(ABC News: Briana Fiore)

Earlier, hundreds of people crowded the departure floor as passengers waited to go through security.

A passenger wrote on social networks that they were 20 minutes from departure, but they were waiting for several hours.

“Everyone must leave for review! Even those on departing planes,” the person wrote.

A crowd at Adelaide Airport.

There are major disruptions and flight delays.(ABC News: Brianna Fiore)

Airport passenger Roy Abraham said he was moments away from boarding when the evacuation began.

“I was probably going to get on for about a minute and then it happened, so there were probably people already on the plane that had to get off,” he said.

“All the pilots had to get off the planes too, so there were probably thousands of people behind me.

“We weren’t really sure what was going on, there was a lot of chatter as you can imagine.”

A similar breach at the airport happened in 2021 and Mr Abraham said his quick thinking secured him a prime spot in the queue.

“When the call was first made, they said there was a security breach, please evacuate the airport immediately,” he said.

“Because it’s happened to me once before, I made a quick phone call to security as soon as I could so I could be in the front row again, but it took a while for them to get everyone out of the airport.

“It might be a few hours, it’s lucky I don’t have a connecting flight.”

Two women smile.

Passenger Caroline (left) was evacuated from the main terminal before her flight.(ABC News: Briana Fiore)

Adelaide woman Caroline said she was just about to board her flight to Sydney when she was evacuated.

“We had an announcement that just said we had to evacuate the terminal and we heard that a few times and then we all started to leave,” she said.

“It was very neat, very safe and good.”

One passenger, Dan Thompson, said he was in the airport bathroom when the announcement came over the loudspeaker.

Don Thompson smiles.

Dan Thompson was evacuated from Adelaide Airport on Monday morning.(ABC News: Brianna Fiore)

“It was a bit of a shock,” he said.

He was going to Melbourne and hoped he would still get there in time.

“I guess these things happen.”

Mount Barker resident Lindsay Campbell, who arrived as the situation was unfolding, said communication from the airport had been good.

“It was a bit of a shock when I went in to see what was going on, but I’ve been on the receiving end of it.

“It’s just one of those things, you grin and bear it.”

Lindsay Campbell smiles.

Lindsay Campbell says the evacuation was a shock.(ABC News: Briana Fiore)

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