Over 200 flights disrupted at Japanese airport after scissors go missing

A pair of missing scissors led to the cancellation of 36 flights and a delay in another 201 flights at a Japanese airport over the weekend (Aug 17-18).

The domestic terminal at Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport came to a standstill when flights were suspended for about two hours on Saturday morning during security checks. A pair of scissors went mission in a stone near the boarding gates, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport.

The passengers were all clogged up in queues in the departure lounge as they were forced to retake security checks in order for the security authorities to locate the scissors.

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The scissors that went missing on Saturday were eventually found on Sunday, the announcement for which was made on Monday (Aug 19). However, the flights were eventually resumed on Saturday after several layers of security checks.

How a pair of missing scissors at Japan airport led to cancellation, delay of flights

The incident took place on Saturday (Aug 17), when a pair of scissors went missing near the boarding gates, prompting airport authorities to suspend security checks, according to a report by Yomiuri Shimbun.

Passengers who had already passed through security were required to undergo the screening process again, leading to confusion and flight delays.

In total, 201 flights were delayed, and 36 were cancelled due to the security lapse. Despite an extensive search, the scissors were not found, and normal operations resumed approximately two hours later.

Hokkaido Airport, the operator of New Chitose Airport, announced on Monday that a worker at the store had found the scissors on Sunday. Authorities explained that they held off the announcement till Monday to confirm that the scissors found were the same as the lost ones.

Many travellers affected by the cancellations and delays were flying home after Japan’s annual Bon holiday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has asked Hokkaido Airports to investigate the cause and prevent it from happening again.

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"We recognise that this occurred as a result of insufficient storage and management systems at the store,” Hokkaido Airport said.

New Chitose is one of Japan’s busiest airports, serving the world's second-most travelled domestic air route – between Tokyo and Sapporo, according to aviation analytics company OAG. More than 15 million travellers used the airport in 2022.

(With inputs from agencies)