How a pair of scissors led to more than 30 flight cancellations at Japan's airport

Traffic at one of Japan’s busiest airports was halted on Saturday.

This came after after a pair of scissors went missing, raising security concerns among authorities, local media reported.

The incident resulted in hours-long security searches, cancellations and delays of hundreds of flights at New Chitose Airport (CTS), which serves the Sapporo area on the northern island of Hokkaido.

Here’s a look at what happened.

Delayed and cancelled flights

According to aviation analytics company OAG, New Chitose is one of Japan’s busiest airports, offering the second-most-travelled domestic air route in the world.

Known for its stringent operating and security procedures, the airport served over 15 million passengers in 2022, as per CNBC-TV18.

For security concerns, retail establishments at the airport are obliged to keep scissors in specified lockers. When using scissors, staff members are required to return them right away.

On Saturday, however, an airport store stated that they were unable to locate a pair of scissors.

Security checks were reportedly halted for over two hours after the scissors vanished, according to Japanese station NHK.

Due to a serious backlog created by this security operations breakdown, travellers were refused entry and lines were extended for hours.

The Japanese airline ANA alerted passengers to the possibility of unexpected delays in flights as a result of airport security procedures in a post on X.

The BBC reported that lengthy lines formed as passengers who had previously cleared security had to go through checks again.

Around 200 flights were delayed and 36 were cancelled as a result of the incident, which had an impact beyond the airport’s operations.

The fact that a lot of visitors were returning home after Obon — a momentous festival in Japan when many go to honour their ancestors and spend time with family — made the inconvenience even worse.

Passengers frustrated

Many passengers vented their annoyances online.

Due to the delay in flights on Saturday, roughly 30 travellers were compelled to spend the night at the airport. The Dimsum Daily claims that the airport gave sleeping bags and mats on the fourth floor of the terminal to accommodate them.

Japanese rock group 9mm Parabellum Bullet was one of many impacted by the security concerns; they were unable to perform at the Rising Sun music festival in Hokkaido this year because of a plane cancellation, as per CNN.

The band declared in a statement on the festival’s website, “We will definitely get our revenge!” and the festival itself announced it would not be providing refunds for tickets.

“I feel like crying because my flight was cancelled due to someone losing a pair of scissors,” one flier wrote on X.

“Because of this incident, the flight I was supposed to take was cancelled, and now my reunion with my family, which I was looking forward to has been shortened. It’s a major disappointment,” another added.

“As a passenger, I’m grateful that they take such thorough measures to ensure safety,” the third one posted.

Scissors found

It was feared that the scissors would have been grabbed by a possible terrorist and used as a weapon aboard a plane.

However, two days later, the airport claimed that the tools were found and flights were resumed.

The national newspaper Nikkan Sports reported that the scissors had been found in the same place where they had vanished.

“We are aware that the incident occurred due to the lack of proper usage, storage and management systems by the store users,” New Chitose Airport’s operators said in a statement.

“We will investigate this incident, determine its cause, and prevent its recurrence. We will also reaffirm that this incident could relate to hijacking and terrorist attack, and we will ensure that all airport personnel are fully aware of the importance of management.”

With inputs from agencies