"Phone blamed for Sydney Airport scare"

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Phone blamed for Sydney Airport scare
Australia - National Nine News


A mobile phone accidentally left turned on in luggage is being blamed for a
security scare at Sydney Airport last night which left tens of passengers
from a Virgin Blue flight stranded. 

The Melbourne-bound plane was due to take off shortly before 10pm, but news
of the phone forced its immediate evacuation while baggage handlers scoured
the cargo hold to find it. 

"Nobody's given us an answer, all they did was turn around and said there
was a mobile phone stuck in the cargo hold, and everybody had to get off,"
said passenger Peter Chronakis. 

"Twenty-four hours later we're still stuck at the airport." 

Tensions grew in the terminal as the phone eluded searchers. 

"It's just been disastrous, kids crying, people pushing and shoving to get
put on buses, it was horrible," recalled passenger Sandra Megarry. 

Businessman Bobby Amin said: "It's an absolute joke, complete waste of time,
I was meant to be in Melbourne last night, it's now 7.30am in the morning,
I've got appointments all day today, so I'm very, very put out." 

The baggage handlers union said the incident highlighted the lack of
security coordination at Virgin, amid claims untrained staff were sent to
retrieve a bag from a Singapore Airlines flight on Monday after a passenger
said there was a bomb in his baggage. 

"There has been no training, there's no coordinating authority of what to
do, how to do it, what processes to follow to make sure this is dealt with
by the appropriate authorities," said Tony Sheldon from the Transport
Workers Union. 

He's called for government intervention. 

"It's like sending canaries down a mineshaft, [but] in this case it's real
people."


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