Woman crosses Sydney Airport fence

A woman was detained on January 5 after she climbed the fence at Sydney Airport and walked across two active taxiways towards the airport’s main runway.

Witnesses have told Australian Aviation that the woman was seen sitting on top of the fence near a popular aircraft viewing area known as ‘the mound’ next to the control tower on the eastern side of the airport, when she dropped down onto the ground and walked across the busy Charlie and Bravo taxiways towards the 16R/34L main runway near the General Holmes Drive tunnel. There, airport safety officers intercepted and detained the trespasser, and took her back to the airside boundary where she was handed over to Australian Federal Police officers.

“At approximately 8.20am [on January 5] a woman was seen within the airport perimeter having scaled a fence near General Holmes Drive,” an airport spokesman told Australian Aviation. “A Sydney Airport security vehicle collected the woman, who appeared to be disoriented. The AFP were called and the NSW Ambulance Service took the woman into care. There was no disruption to aviation operations.”