Scissors scare at Sapporo airport causes mass delays and cancellations
A serious disruption occurred at New Chitose Airport in Sapporo. It all started when a store employee reported a missing pair of scissors to security.
21 August 2024 14:23
According to local media, chaos ensued shortly after a store employee reported the missing scissors in the airport's airside area. This information prompted an immediate response from airport authorities.
Chaos erupted at the Japanese airport
The security procedures at Japan's New Chitose Airport are exceptionally stringent, which is why airport authorities decided to take the situation very seriously. As a result, all services were placed on high alert.
When the search for the scissors yielded no results, it was decided to evacuate passengers from the restricted area of the terminal and halt security checks, then repeat the procedure. Passengers had to go through security screening once again. The repeat action was intended to help find the missing item.
The disruption affected several thousand travellers
However, these measures did not succeed, and the scissors were not found. After about two hours, normal airport operations resumed, but delays and flight cancellations were inevitable.
As a result, as many as 190 flights were delayed, and 35 flights were completely cancelled. These disruptions affected several thousand travellers, causing them to significantly change their plans.
New Chitose Airport in Sapporo is one of the largest airports in Japan. In 2023, it handled 22.3 million passengers.
The disruption began at approximately 09:00 GMT, causing widespread daily delays.
Source: Paddle Your Own Kanoo, Fly4free
