Australia’s major airlines have advised passengers that the federal government’s easing of airport security screening requirements on Thursday evening should result in fewer delays.
“The Australian Government has advised us that the additional aviation security measures implemented at Australia’s major airports last week have been adjusted,” a statement on the Virgin Australia website reads.
“From tomorrow (Friday 4 August), passengers can return to normal travel times at the airport for check-in.”
Qantas, meanwhile, said “changes are likely to reduce the time it takes to move through the airport, [however] we ask passengers to please ensure they arrive with plenty of time ahead of their flight”.
Increased security screening was introduced at Australia’s airports on the weekend after Australian Federal Police and NSW Police raided homes in Sydney on Saturday after receiving intelligence of a threat to smuggle a home-made explosive device onto an airliner.
On Thursday evening NSW Police announced that two of the four men arrested on Saturday had been formally charged with involvement in a plot to bring down a passenger aircraft (one of the other men was released without charge).
“The threat posed by the recent plot to bring down an aeroplane has been disrupted and contained,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement.
“As a result, the Director-General of Security has lowered the terror threat level posed to Australia’s aviation industry.”
The Prime Minister’s statement also observed that it is “important to note Australia’s aviation security was not compromised at any time during the terrorist plot”.
