36 flights cancelled, 201 delayed over missing item in Japanese airport

One of Japan’s busiest airports was thrown into chaos over a missing item from a store, causing 36 flights to be cancelled and 201 delayed.

One of Japan’s busiest airports was thrown into chaos over a missing item from a store near the boarding gates, causing flight cancellations, delays and huge queues.

A huge 36 flights were cancelled and 201 delayed at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido on Saturday as authorities looked for a pair of scissors, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Security checks were suspended for about two hours and passengers who had been cleared earlier were forced to go back through the security checkpoint.

Almost 40 flights were cancelled and 200 delayed, causing chaos at New Chitose Airport. Picture: NHK

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways warned passengers of “sudden delays or cancellations” due to security checks.

Operations at the airport ended up resuming before the scissors were eventually found the following day.

Surprisingly, they were found in the same store they were reported missing from, NHK reported, citing the airport’s operator.

This was not revealed until Monday because the airport wanted to be sure they were the same scissors.

It is understood the scissors were not for sale in the store but an item used by staff, and were reportedly kept locked away.

Those who had already passed security had to be checked again. Picture: NHK

In a statement, Hokkaido Airports, the operator of New Chitose Airport, said: “We recognise that this occurred as a result of insufficient storage and management systems at the store.

“We are aware that this is also an incident that could be linked to hijacking or terrorism, and will once again work to ensure thorough management awareness.”

New Chitose Airport to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is the second busiest domestic route in the world, according to global flight and airport data provider OAG.

The scissors incident came at a particular bad time given it was the end of Japan’s annual Obon holiday.