Perth Airport’s international terminal has been thrown into chaos after Western Australian and Australian Federal Police established an exclusion zone around an unattended item discovered in the Terminal 1 forecourt on Tuesday afternoon, leaving thousands of passengers stranded with little information and no clear timeline for resolution.
Officers from both WA Police and the Australian Federal Police moved to lock down part of Terminal 1 — the airport’s international wing — at around 4pm local time, closing check-in desks and removing staff from the terminal. The Terminal 1 short-term car park was also shut, with traffic redirected to the Terminal 2 short-term facility. Arriving international passengers have been escorted out of the building via alternative exits, while the eastern end of the forecourt remains sealed. A Perth Airport spokesperson confirmed that travellers can still exit through the western end of the forecourt.
The lockdown has caused significant disruption for passengers who landed during the afternoon and found themselves stuck in lengthy, unmoving customs queues with no explanation from airport staff. One traveller who arrived on a flight from Bali told The West Australian they had been waiting close to two hours by the time any communication was offered. “The line was long but was moving,” they said. “At perhaps 4pm the line stopped moving — zero announcements on PA, zero communication from any staff until perhaps 4.50pm. Then about 5pm some staff member finally came and told us there was an AFP incident out front and they’re not letting us out until it’s cleared.”
In a statement, Perth Airport said it was working closely with the AFP and WA Police to maintain the exclusion zone while the investigation continues. The AFP has urged the public to avoid the area and await further advice, with a spokesperson saying more information would be released “at an appropriate time.”
The nature of the unattended item has not been disclosed. It remains unclear how many flights have been affected by the incident or how long the lockdown is expected to remain in place.
