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Avalon Airport was shut down for several hours on Thursday morning due to a “suspicious object” later identified as a laser hair removal device.
The terminal was evacuated for a safety check after the item was discovered at around 6am, according to reports from the ABC, with the passenger arrested at the scene but not charged. Several arriving and departing flights, including to Brisbane and Sydney, were delayed or cancelled.
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“The domestic terminal at Melbourne Avalon Airport has now reopened and operations have resumed. Victoria Police have deemed the item no longer a risk,” the airport said in a statement after the all-clear was given at around 10:30am.
“Today’s response demonstrates the vigilance of the screening and security processes, with precautionary measures taken immediately to ensure the safety of passengers, staff and the broader community, which will always remain our highest priority.”
According to Victoria Police Acting Inspector Nick Uebergang, the passenger’s behaviour exacerbated the situation.
“The person who had the bag wasn’t too co-operative with us to start off with, too, which made things a little bit difficult. They probably could have averted things and we could have got out of here a little bit quicker,” he said.
“He wasn’t giving us too much information at all on what was in his bag … It probably took a little while for that to get into him about co-operating and giving us a better understanding of what was in the bag.”
Security at Avalon has been increased following an alleged hijack attempt last year, in which a teenager is accused of breaching the security fence on 6 March 2025, armed with a shotgun and attempting to board a Jetstar flight to Sydney.
In minutes from a June 2025 government meeting obtained by The Australian, Department of Home Affairs assistant secretary (aviation security) Matthew Pedler told airport operators that the alleged incident was the worst since a Sydney bomb threat was disrupted in July 2017.
The alleged attacker has been charged with a range of offences, which include possession of a firearm, carrying out a bomb hoax, endangering the safety of an aircraft, and unlawfully taking control of an aircraft.
A Victorian Children’s Court this week heard that the teenager was “not thinking clearly at the time” and was “under tremendous mental strain”, having suffered “significant deterioration” in a number of mental health conditions prior to the alleged incident.
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