More than 200 passengers escorted off Qantas flight by armed police at Melbourne Airport after security screening issue

After a plane landed, police removed more than 200 people off after discovering that at least one of them had not gone through security.

Before being brought to the arrivals hall, travellers on Qantas flight QF487 from Sydney to Melbourne had to wait 15 to 20 minutes both onboard and in a gate lounge. The Australian Federal Police and airport security then led the passengers off the aircraft to be rescreened.

As travellers waited to go through the usual security checks, some passengers posted images to social media showing police officers carrying large guns.

QANTAS’ NEW YORK TO SYDNEY NON-STOP RESEARCH FLIGHT SET FOR TAKE-OFF(Opens in a new browser tab)

A Qantas spokesperson said the incident was triggered by a passenger who “inadvertently” bypassed screening at Sydney Airport.

“As a precaution, all passengers on QF487 were escorted from the plane when it landed in Melbourne and taken through the screened part of the airport into the unscreened area. By doing this, we avoided compromising the secure section of the Melbourne terminal, which would have required all passengers who had already been through security to be rescreened.

We will investigate to understand how this incident occurred and we apologies for any inconvenience to passengers on the flight.” The passengers were permitted to leave Melbourne Airport once being screened.