Chaos at Avalon Airport as terminal locked down and Bomb Response Unit called in

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 23:36, 20 May 2026 | Updated: 23:56, 20 May 2026 One man has been detained and Avalon Airport has been evacuated as police respond to a suspected bomb scare at the terminal. Travellers were prevented from entering the airport, south-west of Melbourne, on Thursday morning as emergency crews flooded the scene. Dozens of responders remain at the airport, including members of Victoria Police's Bomb Response Unit. Incoming passengers were also affected, with arriving travellers prevented from entering parts of the terminal during the emergency response. A flight from Bali landed at about 7am, with passengers safely disembarking before being escorted out of the terminal and taken to a temporary holding area in the car park. Passengers with access to vehicles were allowed to leave immediately, while others were directed to walk to the main exit. Those arriving from Bali were told there was a security incident affecting the domestic terminal, which had been shut down, while international flights would continue to be processed as normal. Passengers due to fly to Brisbane were also refused entry to the terminal. Meanwhile, long queues of cars have formed along Canberra Drive and Beach Road as the disruption continues. 'Everyone is being turned away and asked to park on the road,' one man told local radio station Bay 93.9. 'We pulled up next to someone who said it was apparently a bomb scare. 'There's cars everywhere outside.' Another said that his flight was cancelled.  'We arrived at the airport at 5.50am,' he wrote online. 'At 6.05 am we were evacuated to the drop off point. Once police arrived, they arrested a guy for questioning and we were moved further back to the short term car park.  'Once we were told our flight was cancelled and we were put on another flight, we left.' A Melbourne Avalon Airport spokeswoman confirmed the security scare. 'The domestic terminal at Melbourne Avalon Airport was evacuated this morning following the identification of a suspicious item during the screening process. 'Victoria Police attended and an individual has been detained. 'At this stage, passengers are being advised that, due to safety precautions, delays are expected to the Brisbane flight this morning. We will provide further updates regarding any additional delays as more information becomes available.' Jetstar sent text messages to its passengers. 'There is a security incident at Avalon Airport this morning and the airport is currently closed. There are also road closures around the airport to be aware of. 'Chat with us here (link) for flight options from Melbourne. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.