Travellers at Avalon Airport were met with delays for a few hours this morning when a suspicious item was found during a security screening. Turns out, the item was just a laser hair removal device and flights resumed shortly after.
And in New York, a sinkhole opened up on a LaGuardia Airport runway today, causing flight delays and closed runways.
Airport closures are rare and sometimes strange, but when they happen, the impacts spread fast. One single closure can cancel flights all across the world, delaying thousands of passengers.
Here are five other times airports have shutdown for bizarre reasons over the years.
Floodwaters swallow Queensland airport, 2005
In June 2005, the Gold Coast was hit with 300 millimetres of rain, causing the closure of Queensland’s Coolangatta Airport. The airport was completely flooded, with water levels reaching waist height outside the terminal. That year, more than 3.5 million passengers travelled through the airport, meaning the floods disrupted one of Australia’s biggest tourist gateways.
Protesters invade Bangkok airport, 2008
On 25 November, 2008, chaos swamped Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport when anti-government protesters stormed into the airport. All flights were cancelled as the uncontrollable protestors spread around the terminal carrying iron bars, declaring to stop when the prime minister resigns. The Bangkok airport saw around 14.5 million tourists that year, turning the protest into a travel crisis for many around the world.
Chemical outbreak at Melbourne Airport, 2005
In February 2005, a mystery leak of fumes saw nearly 50 people rushed to hospital, treated for nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath. Thousands were left stranded outside the airport, waiting hours to find out when they could escape Melbourne, while 14,000 passengers nationwide were reportedly affected by the incident.
Balloons carrying cigarettes shut Lithuanian airport, 2025
Smugglers attempted to transport cigarettes with dozens of air balloons, resulting in the closure of Lithuania’s Vilnius Airport on 4 October, 2025. The balloons floated into the skies on route to the European Union, where tobacco is more expensive. Thirty flights were canceled, leaving 6,000 passengers stuck overnight.
The missing pair of scissors, 2024
On 17 August, 2024, a missing pair of scissors was the beginning of an hours-long security search at Japan’s New Chitose Airport. Eventually the scissors were found, however 36 flights were canceled and 201 were delayed. Even a Japanese rock band called 9mm Parabellum Bullet was caught in the chaos, missing their performance at a music festival. “We will definitely get our revenge!!” the band wrote on the event’s website.
Photo: Multiple commercial airplanes parked at an airport terminal with a mountain view in the background by 分 参 is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has been cropped.
