Scores of flights have been cancelled and others delayed out of Sydney airport as police respond to an emergency incident on the runway, after an international flight turned back due to concerns over a passenger’s behaviour.
Malaysia Airlines flight 122 left Sydney at about 1pm on Monday bound for Kuala Lumpur, but turned back due to the passenger and landed at about 3.45pm.
One Twitter user claimed he was on the flight and that a man had become aggressive and began shouting at passengers.
The user said the plane had been on the runway for more than an hour waiting for emergency services to board, with passengers reportedly being moved to a separate part of the plane as they waited.
At about 5.15pm, the Australian federal police posted on Twitter that its officers were “responding to an emergency incident at Sydney International Airport”.
Sydney airport entered single-runway operations in the afternoon due to the incident, with the Airbus A330 sitting on the end of one runway away from the terminal and other aircraft. The airport was still in single runway operations on Monday evening.
An airport spokesperson said32 domestic flights were cancelled as a result of the incident – 16 inbound and 16 outbound services – with delays of up to 90 minutes for other domestic flights.
Disruptions mostly affected domestic flights. No international flights had been cancelled by about 6.45pm.
A Sydney airport spokesperson said it was “currently supporting emergency agencies in the management of an incident at the airport”.
“The airport is operational with flights arriving and departing. Passengers are encouraged to check directly with their airline regarding the status of their flight,” the spokesperson said.
On Twitter, travellers on other flights into Sydney said their pilot announced a delay due to the security incident closing one runway.
First reported at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news