Christchurch Airport (CHC) has reopened and operations were resumed following an evacuation after a suspicious item was found inside the domestic terminal at 8:00 AM local time September 9, 2021. 

The airport’s Facebook page confirmed that Level 1 of the domestic terminal was evacuated at around 0800 local time after a suspicious item was found at the screening point.

 

Police were called to head the inquiry and the New Zealand Defence Force’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit was called for back-up and precaution.   

Police said that the bag belonged to a couple, and two people were spoken to in relation to the incident.

And though several flights have been affected and several hundreds of passengers were impacted, local police confirmed that no threats were made. 

At around 10:40 am local time, Christchurch Airport’s social media pages confirmed that the terminal had reopened, and that people were re-entering.