Security flaws at Australia’s secondary airports

Just how safe are secondary airports in Australia?

On this week’s evidence: worryingly unsafe.

I’ve always been stunned how some rural airports in Australia do not conduct body scans or explosives tests.

At major airports, security operatives will divest you of manicure scissors or mini knitting needles, while letting you carry on a magnum bottle of wine. Such clear lack of thinking there.

But this week’s incident at Avalon Airport, outside Geelong, show just how potentially dangerous things really are.

A teenager armed with a loaded shotgun somehow managed to cut their way through a security fence and make it up the stairs of a commercial Jetstar flight while carrying a loaded shotgun.

Let's unpack that, shall we?

Security failed to see someone making their way through a fence; and failed to notice an armed person making their way across the tarmac.

The teen was allegedly trying to force his way onto the plane before before being overpowered by passengers. That's passengers, not the "security aware" cabin crew.

Police were called to the airport (but were apparently not on duty) and the flight, which was carrying about 150 people to Sydney, was cancelled.

"This would have been a very terrifying incident for the passengers of that plane, and Victoria Police really commend the bravery of those passengers who were able to overpower that male,” Police Superintendent Michael Reid told the media.

Police were also quick to say it was not a terrorist incident, code nowadays for "the offender was white".

Farmer Barry Clark, who tackled the alleged offender, said the teen became became agitated while speaking to a flight attendant.

“Before we knew it, a shotgun appeared, and I was worried about it being shot,” Clark told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“All I could do was push her out of the way, get the gun out of the way, break that gun and throw it down the stairs, and then put him in a hold, throw him to the ground until the police came."

Police detained the teenager and found live ammunition rounds along with the shotgun. He will face eight charges.

Good on Barry. Shame on Avalon Airport. 

American idiot found with a loaded pistol at Sydney Airport

They are everywhere.

Even Sydney Airport is not safe from gun-toting American idiots preserving their "freedoms".

An American man carrying a loaded automatic pistol in his carry-on baggage was arrested at Sydney International Airport (above) earlier this year and appeared in Sydney's Central Local Court last week, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) reported.

AFP officers were called to a security screening area of the airport in March after a worker monitoring an X-ray machine detected a suspected handgun in the 47-year-old man’s carry-on baggage.

Police inspected the bag and found a loaded Ruger pistol, which they seized. The man was stopped from boarding a flight to the United States and charged with possessing an unauthorised pistol contrary to section 7(1) of the Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) and carrying weapons through a screening point contrary to section 47(3) of the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 (Commonwealth).

You have to wonder what style of moron would attempt to carry a gun onto a plane, but....

The man pleaded guilty to both charges was convicted and sentenced on the first charge to a 12-month community corrections order. On the second charge, he was sentenced to a 12-month good behaviour bond with a $500 surety under section 20(1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1914 (Commonwealth).

AFP Sydney Airport Police Commander Superintendent Matthew Parsons said in a statement: “This incident had the potential to have deadly consequences for other travellers and airport customers even if the weapon had been discharged accidentally.”

What is surprising is how little attention the incident attracted.