Hundreds evacuated from Cairns Airport after security breach

Hundreds of passengers have been evacuated from Cairns Airport after a security breach on Monday afternoon.

According to an Australian Federal Police (AFP) spokesperson, the AFP responded after a woman briefly entered a restricted area.

“At no stage was there a threat to public safety,” the AFP spokesperson said.

At about 12.30pm an alarm was triggered when a woman passed through an exit the wrong way as another person was entering, the Cairns Post reports.

“We have spoken to the lady and it is believed she forgot something and left the plane to run back to get it,” Cairns Airport chief operations officer Kate McCreery-Carr told the publication.

The woman was said to be apologetic but an evacuation had to be carried out.

“She thought because she had been screened it was all OK,” Ms McCreery-Carr said.

It is reported that there were disruptions to about five flights.

Inquiries into the incident are ongoing.

No charges have been laid.