A security scare that sent Victoria's Avalon airport into partial lockdown and caused a series of flight delays was caused by a laser hair removal device, police say.
Victoria police said the discovery of a suspicious item had sparked a safety check at the airport shortly after 6am on Thursday. The airport, near Geelong, was partially evacuated and an area was cordoned off as a precaution as police investigated.
After the airport fully reopened, police said: 'The Bomb Response Unit conducted checks on an item, and it was determined to be a laser hair removal device.'
Insp Nick Uebergang said a man had been detained after the package was found inside a bag on a conveyor belt during a security check.
'It was an electrical laser hair removal and a cardboard-cylinder hot chocolate container,' he told reporters on Thursday. 'It's fair to say that the person that had the bag probably wasn't too co-operative with us to start off with, which made things more difficult.'
'It probably could have averted things, and we could have got out of here a lot quicker. He wasn't giving us too much information at all on what was in his bag.'
No charges have been laid, and the man was free to go.
An Avalon airport spokesperson said the 'response demonstrates the vigilance of the screening and security processes' and precautionary measures were 'taken immediately to ensure the safety of passengers, staff and the broader community'.
It came after an airport spokesperson said a suspicious item was found during the screening process, prompting the police response.
Several travellers called talkback radio stations to discuss their snarled travel plans. One man, David, told 3AW Breakfast that he arrived on the scene before a scheduled flight to Brisbane, but he couldn't get in the terminal.
'There's people queued up for miles,' the man told the radio station. 'They blocked it off at the entrance way where the roundabout is, people actually walking out on foot from the airport. They're sort of blocked us off.'
A flight to Brisbane was delayed, according to Lisa, who was due to fly out of the airport just before 9am. She described the situation as 'a bit of mayhem', telling ABC Melbourne that 'no one knew what was going on'.
'We knew something was fairly significant, lots of police cars going into the airport,' Lisa added. The airport expected additional delays throughout the day.
